#friends to arguably lovers to enemies

[joequiinn]

The Dos & Don'ts of Fake Dating | E.M. x reader | pt. 9

[chap eight] | [all chapters here] | [chap ten]

Summary | You propose a crazy idea to the resident freak of Hawkins, Eddie Munson. But maybe he was even crazier for agreeing to it…

Warnings & Notes | fem reader, slow burn, faking dating, opposites attract, bratty rich bitch reader, super minor revenge plot, not-quite-enemies-to-lovers

Author's Note | Me?? Taking another unexpected writing hiatus?? Never. But forreal, you all know how life gets. So, as a treat here's a longer chapter (that may or may not be a bit rambly) to make up for my absence. As I wrote, this just kept going and going, so I hope you all enjoy the extra few thousand words lmao

WC | 8.6k

Chapter Nine

The rest of Monday was absolute shit following your fight with Eddie. After spending the entirety of lunch break hiding out under the bleachers in an attempt to pull yourself together, facing your peers for the rest of the day was the last thing you wanted. The trek to your fifth period class was like some walk of shame, as if you were wearing some damned scarlet letter; it felt as if the entire school was watching you, waiting to see if you’d make yourself look like an idiot again or if you’d erupt. You had never felt so scrutinized before, so susceptible to judgment, but you fought tooth and nail not to give people the reaction they were hoping for.

The next day wasn’t any better. Once again, you felt the weight of everyone’s attention, you felt the pressure of all their judgment. Was this how it felt to be in Eddie’s shoes, how it felt to be a total social outcast? It was even shittier than you could have predicted, and you found yourself questioning the stupid little plan you and Eddie had been hatching that led to this.

It only grew worse as the day went on. Third period was arguably the most frustrating - you were stuck sitting next to Eddie for a whole damn hour, and he didn’t speak a single word to you. You didn’t even think it was possible for that boy to go quiet for longer than a few minutes, yet he proved you wrong, keeping his mouth zipped tight and his eyes on anything but you. Being ignored by Eddie caused your anger to flare, and if you had less self control you would’ve said something about it, would’ve given him a piece of your mind, but your frustrations had kept you, too, surprisingly silent. Or maybe it was the fear of looking stupid again.

Wednesday continued much the same way, although you felt less frustrated by everyone’s critical glances and Eddie’s willful ignorance of your existence. You thought maybe you were starting to get your shit together, that you had finally combatted all your pent up emotions and pushed them all the way down to the pit of your heart, where you'd just ignore them like you did with any challenging feelings. Hell, you were even beginning to fool yourself into thinking that you were feeling better, though deep down you knew that wasn’t true.

The worst that the week had to offer came during lunch that day, though, when you foolishly tried to approach Duncan and demand to know what the hell his deal was. You thought you had pulled yourself together well enough - you spoke with a sharp tone and a cool demeanor, but he and his gang of friends simply mocked your attempts at an argument. They did everything they could to make you feel small, but you kept it together, retreating from their harsh words with all the poise you could muster, hoping that your anger wasn’t too obvious. Their laughter and whispers wouldn't get to you, or at least you'd never show it - the whole school already saw you vulnerable once, it was not about to happen again.

 Consider your reputation officially fucking ruined. 

The thing that hurt more than any of their insults and derogatory words, however, was the look on Eddie’s face as you two met eyes across the lunch room, the way he watched you as you tried to march away from Duncan with your pride still intact. Eddie had been witness to the entire shitty interaction, you realized as you kept your eyes locked on his; the worry and concern so clear on his face caused a crack in your otherwise icy exterior, and you had to rip your gaze away so he couldn't see the hurt in your expression. You nearly broke down the very moment you were out of the cafeteria, the look on Eddie’s face burned into your mind.

The rest of the day was a fucking blur, and you were so emotionally worked up that you were grateful to leave school and go to the one place that could normally calm you down - the ice rink. Wednesday was always your skating day, and today you felt like you needed it more desperately than usual, thankful to spend a few hours on the ice after school. In all your moments of frustration, skating always did wonders to even you out, reminding you why you still enjoyed it after all these years - it helped calm your nerves, clear your head, and relax your heart. It helped to de-escalate your emotions, to make you think straight, and after how hard the past couple of days were, you desperately needed that.

Your anger at Duncan was still burning hot as ever, and even as you slowly relaxed you were still desperate to get back at him, not above stooping to his level. You’d have to corner him when he was alone, without his posse to back him up - then you could really hurt him with your scathing words. You also couldn’t help but wonder just how involved Amelia and Janet were in all this shit - if anything, this stunt was Amelia’s idea, but Janet? She couldn’t have been this cold and heartless; or maybe you just desperately hoped she wasn't.

As you looped around the ice far less elegantly than you normally would, you tried your damnedest not to think about Eddie, as if ignoring the thought of him would somehow remove you from fault. Now that you’ve actually had time to think about it, you knew you’d been mean to him just for the sake of it, just to let your frustrations out on someone. A younger you wouldn't have cared that you mistreated someone, would've just waved it off like a brat and moved on with your life. Hell, only a few months ago, you probably would've still found it comical to talk down to someone like Eddie the way that you did.

But you were not that girl anymore, although you also weren't emotionally ready to acknowledge that Eddie didn’t deserve your vitriol; after all, you were mean to just about everyone, what made him any different? You knew that you’d treated him badly simply because it was easy, because he was the only person there and you needed to let it out. The less prideful part of you knew that you were wrong for that, but that side of you had thus far been outweighed by your own stubbornness. Now, however, you were starting to think maybe you needed to do something about it.

On the one hand, you considered that you had no obligation to make things right with Eddie, and yet, something about that upset you. Were you really so terrible and bitchy that you’d avoid apologizing to him? Were you going to simply ignore him, if not treat him even worse than you’d already had been? That’s certainly something you would have done in the past, but somehow Eddie fucking Munson had made you a little less harsh than you once were.

No, you didn’t need to make this right, but you wanted to. Somehow, Eddie had undeniably grown on you, and at this rate he was virtually the only person you had on your side (that is, of course, if you don’t take into account his ignoring you the past two days). If anyone had even suggested a month ago that you’d be getting along so well with Eddie Munson, you probably would have gagged. What could you and a guy like him possibly have in common, what could you two possibly bond over? These were questions that you were still seeking answers to, even as you drove home after hours of skating at the rink.

Perhaps it was your sense of humor, so much more aligned with his than either of you had expected. Or maybe it was the effortlessness with which you could talk to one another, like you’d already known each other far longer than a few weeks. Hell, maybe it was that Eddie challenged you without even being mean about it, how he so simply gave you new perspectives to take into account and made you reconsider things you thought you knew.

It was strange to realize that, in your own way, you two had become almost-friends quite rapidly. Was that normal? Did other people feel so at ease with someone they’d known for only a few short weeks? You couldn’t remember what it was like when you became friends with Amelia or Janet or anyone else that ran in your former circle - had you bonded with them just as easily as you had with Eddie? Something in you suspected no.

But you tried to avoid thinking about that too much, because you certainly weren’t going to dig into it any deeper.

As you walked through the front door of your home, the silence of the house confirmed to you that your father was still, supposedly, at work. The only time you heard the buzz of electronics throughout the house was when he was around, because your mom never left a television or radio on unnecessarily. You’d bet that she was probably in the kitchen with the radio down low, just a bit of background noise to keep her company as she prepped for dinner. Or maybe she was on the phone in the home office, chatting away with one of her friends about the latest gossip in town.

You hated to admit it, but you and your mom were both used to your father not being around often - most days, he was gone before you left for school and didn’t return home until well into the evening. This had been the family’s routine for years now, so your father’s lack of interest in spending time at home no longer phased you. His absence was just as routine as your school schedule or your mom’s biweekly nail appointments.

You found it far more surprising when he was around - in fact, it almost dared to make you suspicious of him. Because you figured he never seemed interested in spending time with you or your mom, you couldn’t help but speculate what would prompt him to suddenly spend every night at the dinner table for a couple weeks, or to even suggest the family go out together on the weekend. You assumed it was some form of guilt - for a while now, you had yourself convinced that he was having an affair, so perhaps his brief bouts of attentiveness were his measly efforts to reconcile his infidelity with himself.

Of course, you’d never dare even imply this suspicion to your mother, for all you knew it could send her spiraling. And a part of you was convinced that perhaps she’d had her suspicions as well.

As you closed the front door behind you and slid out of your sneakers, you had every intention of running off to your room to avoid your mom entirely. After the week you’d had thus far, you’d rather be left alone, you didn’t want to get caught up in her usual superficial conversations. But before you could even take a step towards the staircase, your mom zipped out of the kitchen towards you, an eager shine in her eyes that almost made her appear younger. You gave her a quizzical look, taking a step back as she got just a little closer than you cared for; even with your parents, you preferred people stay at arm’s length.

“How was your day, hon?” She asked as if in anticipation of something. Your face twisted with even more confusion - what the hell was she so excited about? Was she really that oblivious to the funk you’d been in the past three days?

You stepped around your mom, intending to end this conversation quickly so you could disappear to your room. Your tone was dismissive as you replied coldly, “Not great.”

Her joy seemed to falter a little as she followed just a step behind you; clearly, whatever she wanted to talk about seemed to be important to her, “What do you mean?”

You paused to look back at her again, your agitation clear on your face as you studied her. You weren’t certain, but it seemed as if she were expecting a different response - a particular response. What exactly was she fishing for?

“Today sucked. Just like the rest of this shitty week.” Your tone was cold as you raised your brow, hoping that your attitude may deter her from asking anymore questions. Your callous word choice caused her to pull a face, studying your expression as if she were seeing you for the first time in a long time. For a moment, you thought maybe she’d actually act like your mother, you thought maybe she’d ask you what was wrong and offer a shoulder to cry on.

“I figured it’d be good,” she started with concern in her voice, putting on something of an encouraging smile, “considering the assembly on Monday.”

Dread immediately washed over you, her words causing your heart to drop into your stomach - how did she know about the assembly? The school wouldn’t have called the parents about it, they didn’t care that much. Maybe one of her friends had heard from their kid and then told her? Possibly, but not the most likely. So, how did she know?

All you could do was stare for a few tense moments, fighting to keep in all the feelings you’d just worked through on the ice rink. Your jaw tightened as you swallowed hard, attempting to quiet your mind and take a deep breath. Your intense eyes burned into your mother, who seemed to recognize that what she’d just said may have been a mistake.

“How do you know about that?” You probed with an edge to your voice, feeling as if all your emotions were going to come spilling out of you at any minute.

Although she appeared hesitant, your mom kept her composure, persisting to act bright in the foolish hopes that it would help you relax, “Amelia called while you were out.”

If your heart could drop any further, it would have. You began to feel almost out of body as you started to piece it all together, already realizing Amelia’s fucking game. She knew you wouldn’t have mentioned your dissolved friendship to your mother because of your distant relationship with your parents, and now she was using it against you. To what end? Simply to torment you more?

Receiving no response from you, your mother smiled encouragingly, still trying her hardest to keep things chipper as she continued, “She wanted to know if I’d like to be a chaperone for homecoming. She seemed so excited that both of you were nominated for homecoming queen!”

Your jaw clenched in anger, eyes growing harsher as they burnt into your mother. You had no reason to be mad at her, but at that moment your rage was coming back up, clawing its way out of you. It took everything in your power not to shout expletives in her face.

So, you turned away from her, trying to collect yourself by taking a few deep breaths. From over your shoulder, your mom continued, trying in vain to understand what was going on with you, “Honey, what’s wrong? This should be exciting news.”

You whipped around angrily, but bit your tongue as you two stared at one another, you in vexation and your mom in concern. You took one more deep breath while rolling your eyes, looking away again.

“Did Amelia tell you who I was nominated with? Or that we haven’t spoken a word to each other in nearly two weeks?” As your frustration bubbled, you met her eyes again, “Or that I was only nominated as some shitty prank? Did she mention that I ran out of the gym like a fucking coward because of how humiliated I felt?”

Your mother’s face was awash with concern as she looked between your eyes, and for a moment you really did think she’d comfort you, in fact, you were almost hoping for it. But that was quickly squashed, “Will you please watch your language? You don’t have to get so worked up.”

The upset on your face only increased - despite everything else you said, your language was the thing that concerned her most? You scoffed with frustration, shaking your head in disbelief as you all but shoved past her, keeping your wild eyes away from hers.

“You don’t even care!” You said venomously, stomping back towards your belongings left by the front door. Haphazardly, you shoved your feet into your shoes and dug around for your keys, “I’m not good right now, mom, and all you’re worried about is my fucking language! Do you care how I’m feeling?”

With a flustered look, your mom approached you, “Of course I care, but I can’t even understand you anymore! You’ve been so different recently, so much more distant. How am I supposed to know what’s going on if you won’t tell me?”

You simply shook your head, throwing your bag back on your shoulder once you had your keys. As you swung open the front door, it bounced off the wall, causing your mother to gasp at the aggressive act.

“Where are you going!?” She insisted while following you outside. You didn’t dare look back, marching towards your car as your anger continued to bubble over.

“Anywhere but here!” As you whipped around to the driver side door, you finally looked at your mother, who lingered on the front steps with a disappointed and confused expression. You were sure you looked absolutely wild and irate as you flung open the car door, carelessly tossing your bag inside and holding your mother’s gaze.

You could see that she was trying to make sense of the chaos happening right now, trying her best to keep it together as if that would calm you down now after everything that just happened. She wasn’t used to seeing you like this, so emotional and out of control - she’d seen you angrier these past couple weeks than you’d been your entire fucking life.

“Please just come back inside.” She tried earnestly, but you were too far gone to hear any of it. You ripped your gaze from hers and slammed the car door once you were settled into the seat, zipping out of the driveway fast enough that you nearly hit the mailbox.

You didn’t make it far, though, having to pull over only a minute later because you realized you were on the verge of crying. Fuck, when was the last time that had happened? You were never the type to get emotional like this, but shit, you’d had a stressful week. You had to catch your breath, to hold back your tears of anger, slamming your fists on the steering wheel a few times as if that could make everything better. You didn’t dare let a single tear roll down your face, but they were so welled up in your eyes that you could barely see, forcing you to blink and wipe them away.

What the hell were you doing? Where did you expect to go? These melodramatics felt fucking ridiculous, and you tried to convince yourself you were freaking out over nothing, although your emotions were clearly telling you otherwise. You couldn’t keep acting like this, you wouldn’t allow it - it wasn’t you, and it made you feel weak.

But shit, you felt like your world had been crashing down around you all week, and it was impossible to keep it together right now. So, you pounded your fists against the dashboard, hissing foul words while continuing to fight back everything that was swirling in your chest. You were certain that if any of your neighbors walked by your haphazardly parked car, they’d think you were having a total mental break. And maybe you were; fuck if you knew. You weren’t exactly thinking clearly right now.

After what felt like an eternity, you’d exhausted all your rage, dejectedly catching your breath and attempting to regain your composure. Shit, what were you going to do now? There’s no way in hell you’d go back home - you weren’t ready to deal with your mother again so soon. Or worse, your father, whose temper would simply set you off again.

As you swallowed down the lump in your throat, you couldn’t help but think of your fight with Eddie, and without any hesitation you accepted that right now you missed him. If you weren't so emotional, you'd have stopped to consider how strange that was. Maybe the past few days wouldn’t have been such shit if you’d just been nicer to him; maybe this was karma at work, making you miserable for how you treated him.

You had to apologize to Eddie. Right fucking now.

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As you drove through Forest Hills, you realized you’d never once set foot in a trailer park before. Looking out your windshield at the dark street, you were certain that one trailer home would maybe fill only two bedrooms of your own home. How people lived in such close quarters was something you couldn’t even comprehend, and on a normal night maybe you would’ve lingered on that thought. But considering that you came here on a mission, you were unable to become distracted; no, the anxiety that was rapidly growing in your chest kept you laser focused on the task you set out on.

It wasn’t until you reached this side of Hawkins that your fear began to mount - should you really be showing up to Eddie’s place unannounced? Is this terrible timing? What if his uncle was home? The further into Forest Hills you drove, the more worried you became. For all you knew, Eddie would slam the door in your face, tell you to fuck off and leave him alone. And after all the shit you’d dealt with this week, you couldn’t handle any more rejection.

Maybe you should just turn around and get out of here while you still have the chance.

But as that thought crossed your mind, you spotted Eddie’s van in front of one of the trailers, and your heart rate sped up to a frankly concerning pace. Shit, it was now or never. Turn back around and head home or face Eddie and his possible rejection. Frankly, both options sounded fucking awful.

For a few long moments, you simply lingered on the road, staring at Eddie’s trailer as your heart drummed in your chest; your eyes roved over the illuminated windows, half expecting to see Eddie’s silhouette appear in one of them any second now. But when no visual indicator of him appeared, you shook yourself back to the present, pulling up alongside his van with the brief thought that maybe he saw your headlights. You hesitated at that, waiting yet again to see if he’d appear in the window or at the door. Fuck, if you were going to be this nervous, you might as well just get out of here.

But you knew you couldn’t do that. You knew you had to talk to Eddie again, you had to have at least one decent relationship in your life right now. Considering that he was the closest thing you had to a friend at the moment, you had to make amends with him. Not that Eddie owed you any forgiveness, of course - again, the fear that he’d want nothing to do with you came creeping back up, even as you pulled the keys from the ignition and slowly stepped out of the car.

Fuck, what were you going to do if Eddie didn’t want to talk? You didn’t think you could manage to survive the rest of the week if he didn’t forgive you. Despite trying to ignore the thought, in a way you realized that right now you needed Eddie.

This shit better work.

You felt almost shaky as you approached the front door, hearing thrashing metal music reverberating inside the trailer. You had to take another pause at the door to collect yourself - you were not nervous like this, and you refused to appear this nervous in front of anyone. You were here to apologize, not to be vulnerable. So, you pulled yourself together with a few deep breaths, marching up to the door and knocking strongly before you could think to hesitate any longer. Considering how loud the music was, you realized Eddie probably didn't hear you, so you roughly pounded your fist against the door once again. You put on a brave face, taking one more deep breath as the music quieted and someone approached the door.

Of course, once you and Eddie locked eyes, you suddenly froze. All the things you’d rehearsed on the way over here momentarily left your head as you took in his surprised expression, the look in his eyes that suggested you were the last person he expected to see on his doorstep. For what felt like hours, the two of you stared at one another as you attempted to collect your thoughts, attempted to keep all your hurt from showing on your face.

You eventually had to rip your eyes away from Eddie, maybe then you could finally find your voice again. As you stared at his feet, you straightened out your back and clenched your jaw, trying to quiet your mind and get out at least one coherent thought. With a deep breath, you flicked your gaze back to his face.

“Can we talk?” Your voice came out strong, if not a little cold - good, at least you didn’t sound as weak as you’d been feeling recently.

Eddie’s expression was still a little taken aback, even as he tried to put on a calm, collected air. Had you not caught him so off guard, perhaps you would’ve been fooled by the lazy smirk he gave you or his seemingly relaxed posture. But given the look of near astonishment that was on his face only a moment prior, you knew he was probably just as unprepared for this conversation as you were.

“Well, since you drove all the way here…” Eddie trailed off in what was meant to be a casual tone, stepping to the side and nodding his head towards the trailer behind him. You looked between his eyes and the entryway for a moment before stepping up into his home, immediately taking it all in attentively - it was easier to focus on your surroundings than to focus on him and your emotions.

You weren’t sure what you had expected of Eddie’s home, but as you stood in his small living room, everything appeared exactly as it should have - the place was cozy, decorated with items that were clearly personal, reflecting the taste of someone so unlike your own family. Back in your own home, the art on the wall was perfectly curated by your mother, the only photos being staged family portraits; the furniture was also meticulously decided on, meant to look cohesive and clean and modern.

Here in the Munson trailer, the space actually felt lived in - the coffee table was stacked with car magazines and western paperbacks, the walls adorned with collections of hats and mugs. The furniture was worn from years of use, the kitchen was cluttered, a fold out bed was pushed off to one side - yes, this home actually had life to it, unlike the stale living environment you were so used to. Without having met the man, you already had a strong sense of Eddie’s uncle just by looking around the place.

The more you looked at the Munson home, the more your curiosity grew - you wanted to ask more about Eddie and his uncle and all the little details that made them a family. But before you could get to know any more about Eddie, first you had to actually make things right with him. So, you turned your attention back to him, briefly catching the self-conscious look on his face that he very quickly corrected - did he feel judged, having you in his home like this? Was he worried what you’d think now that you had this more intimate glimpse at his life?

The two of you stared at one another for a few long moments; Eddie was clearly anticipating what you’d say next, and you were still trying to decide where exactly to start. You raised a brow as you let out a breath, forcing yourself to look away again so you could actually speak - looking Eddie in the eye like this made it harder to apologize.

“I shouldn’t have acted like that.” You started, letting your gaze continue to roam over trinkets and decor in the living room. Off to your side, you heard Eddie hum in acknowledgement instead of saying anything, which seemed to be your cue to continue. You sighed a little, forcing yourself to be honest, hard as it may be; your voice was a touch quieter as you added, “You didn’t deserve that shit.”

“No, I didn’t.” Eddie responded with a hint of harshness to his tone, but considering the circumstances, he didn’t sound nearly as mad as you’d expected. You slowly spun around, looking anywhere but his direction so your words would come more easily.

“I… like having you around.” The sentence sounded juvenile to your ears, but you simply continued, “I know all I wanted was to stir shit up and be left alone, but the past couple days--”

You had to cut yourself off, suddenly feeling a sadness well up in your throat - you were not about to break, not right now, not in front of Eddie. So, you swallowed hard and tried to calm down before he could see the chink in your armor.

“Not so fun being on the other side of things, huh?” Eddie chimed in, saving you from yourself with his comment. You turned to him with a nod, hoping your eyes didn’t give too much away.

“Fucking sucks, actually.” You managed a small, sad smile. It looked as if Eddie, too, wanted to mirror the expression, but he kept it to himself. You took in his posture, his crossed arms and guarded look, hoping that you were getting through to him.

You let out a sigh, your gaze drifting down to the floor as you struggled to find your words. God, being sincere shouldn’t be so damn hard, but you were never one to admit your faults, never the type to open up easily. Despite your usual confidence and brashness, you couldn’t even seem to form proper sentences right now.

“I forgive you.” Those three simple words drew a surprised look from you, to which Eddie shrugged as he continued, looking away with a coolness that surely had to be for show, “Your apology could use some work, seeing as you couldn’t even say ‘sorry,’ but you were forgiven the second I opened that door.”

That last statement was shockingly honest and somehow a touch too vulnerable for your liking - it made you nervous, and you couldn’t say why. Was Eddie just being hyperbolic, saying that to make you feel better? Or was it the truth, could he have possibly been willing to forgive you just like that simply because you showed up on his doorstep? Both of those ideas made you apprehensive in vastly different ways.

With a quick shake of your head, you tried to pull yourself together, straightening your shoulders and wiping the vulnerable look from your face. You met Eddie’s kind eyes with as much coolness as you could muster, hoping it wasn’t too obvious that you were relieved with how this conversation had gone. There was a glint of amusement in Eddie’s face as he watched you, as if he knew exactly what was going through your head, as if he knew your calm demeanor was all for show.

Eddie looked down, rubbing the back of his neck as he spoke, “So long as you don’t drag me to that stupid homecoming, we’ll be alright.”

You couldn’t help but scoff and roll your eyes at the suggestion, thankful that Eddie made the effort to break the tension in the room - you were done trying to be vulnerable, and it seemed that he could sense that, too.

“As if I’d let myself be the Carrie White of their shitty joke.” You gave Eddie a playful glance, catching the way his brow furrowed.

“Carrie, huh?”

You also gave him a look, “Yeah, you know - telekinetic chick who killed everyone at prom?”

The smile that graced Eddie’s lips was nearly infectious as he laughed with a shake of his head, “Oh, I know Carrie, I’m just surprised that you do - you don’t seem the horror type.”

You cross your arms teasingly - it was so easy to fall back into this pattern with Eddie, easy to bounce off each other. Admittedly, you missed it.

“There’s still a lot you don’t know about me.” You counter with a small smirk, to which Eddie gave you a challenging look.

“Well, it would help if you opened up a little more, princess.” The nickname rolled off Eddie’s tongue with ease, and it was a relief to hear it - that had to mean you really were forgiven, that he hadn't just said so to make you feel better. Even still, you narrowed your eyes, prompting Eddie to continue in his defense, “I know nothing about your hobbies, but you know practically all of mine.”

You looked him up and down once, “You know that I skate.”

Eddie rolled his eyes teasingly, although he sounded deathly serious as he said, “There’s clearly more to you than that.”

The sincerity in Eddie’s tone juxtaposed his playful look, giving you pause, making you nervous. You answered simply and with a dismissive shrug, hoping it didn't lead into some deeper conversation, “Guess that makes you the first person to notice.”

You turned away from Eddie to continue looking around, taking in the room as you debated whether or not you’d elaborate on your interests. Considering that Eddie made a good point about not knowing you well, you caved - after all, did you want him as a friend or not?

“I love horror movies.” You take a few steps towards a shelf filled with videos and cassettes, your eyes slowly looking over the titles, “Books, too, but the movies are way scarier, so they’re more fun.”

A few familiar horror titles sat on the shelf, causing you to grin and glance back at Eddie, who seemed to be watching you attentively. Realizing he was caught staring, he quickly righted himself and met your gaze, his curious smile growing. You could see in his face that questions were forming, that he probably wanted to ask what you liked about horror or what movie was your favorite. Expectantly, you turned to face him with an eager raise of your brow.

Eddie looked between your eyes for a moment as if he wasn’t sure what to say first, finally nudging his chin towards the VHS collection on the shelf, “You pick a movie, I’ll order us a pizza?”

You couldn’t help but be surprised at the suggestion - for two days you didn’t speak a word to each other, but again you were reminded of just how effortless it was to go back to the way things were. You smiled in appreciation for Eddie’s ability to make anything easy like this.

As much as you loved the idea, you hesitated, “It’s getting kinda late…”

Eddie waved it off before you could say anything else, “So? My uncle won’t be back for hours, and I don’t think either of us has anything better going on.”

So, you nodded, eagerly turning your attention back to the small collection of movies on the shelf - you wondered which ones were Eddie’s and which were his uncle’s. Quickly, you settled on a movie that you were excited to see there, grabbing it from the shelf and spinning to face Eddie as he dialed the nearest pizza place. You felt like an excited child as you held up Videodrome for him to see. Again, Eddie appeared surprised, but didn’t get the chance to comment as he was greeted by someone on the other end of the call. He probably wouldn’t have guessed Cronenberg to be your taste in horror.

With the pizza ordered and the movie loaded into the VCR, you and Eddie settled on opposite ends of the couch. Within a minute of the movie starting, however, you couldn’t help yourself as you began to eagerly go on and on about how technically impressive the effects in this movie were. You weren’t sure how long you went on for, but after a while you realized you were going on a tangent, cutting yourself off as you looked at Eddie for the inevitable judgment to come. You’d grown used to your friends rolling their eyes or your mom telling you to stop talking about disgusting horror movies, but Eddie looked so… attentive? So interested to listen to what you were saying?

You looked back at the screen almost sheepishly, but you could still feel the burn of Eddie’s eyes watching you.

“You’re kind of a nerd.” He said with far too much glee, causing you to whip your mean gaze back to him; Eddie was smiling from ear-to-ear, clearly pleased with himself and his discovery of your hidden interest.

“I am not.” You scoff, trying not to grin back at him. Eddie leaned across the couch as if to emphasize his taunting, his eyes challenging as he stared at you.

“You just spent five minutes talking about how much you love to watch a fake head blow up - seems kinda nerdy.”

It felt as if no rift had ever formed between you two, as if you hadn’t just been awkwardly trying to apologize to him some fifteen minutes ago. Eddie just made it ridiculously easy to relax, to forget all the bullshit from the past few days.

You gave Eddie’s shoulder a playful shove, so he sat back up in his seat, that wicked grin still on his face, “What, don’t want to be lumped in with the rest of us?”

Despite trying to give Eddie a threatening look, you knew your eyes were betraying you - all of the menace in your expression was destroyed by the way your eyes blatantly shone with amusement. You had to look away again, otherwise you feared you might laugh.

“Liking horror doesn’t make me a nerd.” You insisted.

“No, but considering you made a whole speech about how impactful Cronenberg’s use of gore is, I wouldn’t call you a casual fan.” Eddie teased, and even without looking you knew just how big his grin was.

So, you kept your eyes trained on the screen, hoping to become absorbed in the movie as you tried to ignore the way Eddie was studying you. And it worked for at least a few minutes - you began to smile at the familiar film, attentively following the story development, all the while slowly forgetting about the eyes practically burning a hole in your skull.

But in his typical fashion, Eddie couldn’t stay quiet for too long.

“Jason Voorhees or Michael Myers?”

Without missing a beat, you looked back at Eddie, unable to hold your tongue on the debate. Your tone was perhaps a little snobby as you answered, “Michael, obviously.”

Again, Eddie grinned largely with a challenge in his eye, “‘Obviously?’”

Of course, you knew what he was doing - he was clearly trying to poke at you, but damn it, it was working. You couldn’t resist the opportunity to talk about movie slashers to a captive audience, even if said audience was likely going to keep egging you on.

You rolled your eyes, folding your legs up on the couch as you turned your body towards Eddie, “Jason isn’t scary.”

“Not scary? He and Michael are basically the same guy.” You pulled a face at the comment, noticing that Eddie seemed pleased with himself for getting you going on the subject.

“And I guess you think they’re also just like Bubba?” Eddie grinned wickedly, so you quickly reached over to smack his shoulder, “Don’t you dare say it.”

“Say what?”

You narrowed your eyes, torn between wanting to laugh and wanting to debate your point. You took a deep breath before looking back towards the movie, “Michael is better, end of conversation.”

“I’m more of a Freddy guy myself.” Eddie taunts, clearly not done tormenting you. You shot him a look from the corner of your eye, but didn’t dare give him the satisfaction of a response, trying to keep your attention on the movie instead. A minute later, Eddie chimed up again, “The Exorcist or the Omen?”

To that, you didn’t have as quick an answer, mulling it over for a moment before replying - when you answered with the Exorcist, Eddie couldn’t help but say that response was predictable.

So, it led you down the rabbit hole, Videodrome being totally forgotten in favor of debating your horror opinions. For every answer to Eddie’s questions, he had a counterargument - it didn’t matter whether or not you two agreed on something, he clearly just wanted to get you riled up. Maybe he enjoyed seeing you get excited about something, maybe he enjoyed the way you’d argue your case on characters you loved and hated.

When the pizza arrived, you raced Eddie to the door, paying for the food despite his protests, the pair of you clearly annoying the delivery driver who didn’t give a shit where the money came from so long as he got it. All through your meal, you two continued talking over the movie, which eventually reached its end and prompted Eddie to start playing another that you also wouldn’t pay any attention to.

As the night wore on, your debates eventually died down; your seat on the couch became increasingly more comfortable, and the shitty horror movie you had on was beginning to lull you to sleep. Considering how long your day - no, your whole week - had been, you were surprised it took this long for your exhaustion to set in. So, you slowly settled into the couch, progressively slumping into the cushions.

Seeing the tired look on your face, Eddie nudged you and insisted you lie down, and you were tired enough not to argue, resting on your side so you can continue watching the movie. You keep your legs curled up to avoid getting in Eddie’s space, but nonetheless your knees rest comfortable against his thigh. At some point between half awake and half asleep, you thought that maybe you felt his hand resting comfortably on your leg, but you were too tired to say for sure.

As the night wore on, you must have inevitably fallen asleep, because next thing you knew, you were being pulled out of a dream, a hand gently shaking your shoulder and Eddie’s far off voice encouraging you to wake up. You figured at first that the voice was just a part of your dream, but as the tone grew more clear and insistent, you were brought back to reality. Groggily, you blinked your eyes open with a confused glare - how long had you been out for? And what time was it?

Catching your eyes with his, the corner of Eddie’s mouth pulled back in a small grin, “Jesus, you sleep like the dead.”

A tired moan rumbled in your throat as your eyes narrowed. You tried to roll onto your other side as if you could somehow avoid Eddie that way, your words nonthreatening and heavy with sleep, “Fuck off…”

As Eddie sighed with annoyance, an unfamiliar huff of a laugh met your ears, but you weren’t nearly awake enough to even wonder who it belonged to. Eddie pulled at your shoulder so you couldn’t turn away from him, to which you whined again.

“No, you’re not sleeping on the couch, it’ll ruin your back.” Eddie insisted, teasingly pulling at your arm - if you weren’t still half asleep, it wouldn’t have annoyed you nearly as much as it did, “Come on, get up.”

You opened your harsh eyes again, knowing Eddie wouldn’t allow himself to be ignored. As your eyes adjusted, his face slowly came into focus, his hair haloed by the light of the TV; kneeling beside you, he was clearly trying to hide the amusement he found in your sleepy attitude.

The two of you stared at one another for a long minute as the fog slowly lifted from your brain, making you more and more aware of your surroundings. Your gaze drifted away from Eddie, noticing movement in the corner of your eye; turning in the direction of it, you made eye contact with a man who had to have been Eddie’s uncle. He quickly turned away, pretending to be preoccupied with something in the kitchen, as if that would give you and Eddie a measly sense of privacy.

With a deep yawn, you looked at Eddie again, begrudgingly accepting that you had to get up. You slowly rose into a seated position, your feet brushing Eddie’s leg as you moved to set them on the ground; he rose and took a step back to give you a little more space. Stretching your arms above your head and popping your neck, you looked between the two men, noticing that Eddie seemed to be somewhat sheepish, which made you curious. Was he embarrassed that this was how you and his uncle were meeting? Was it because he felt like you two were caught doing something wrong? Or was it something else entirely that influenced that expression on his face?

You sighed heavily as you rose to your feet, your face scrunching up a little as you looked around the room; your voice was still heavy with sleep as you asked, “What time is it? I have to go home.”

Eddie shook his head at the same moment that his uncle silently disappeared to the bathroom, the sound of the shower running drifting out from under the door; maybe he was trying to give you two a bit more privacy.

“You don’t have to go.” Eddie says in a surprisingly gentle tone, to which you furrow your brow, “It’s late and you're exhausted - just stay here tonight.”

You weakly tried to protest, although you were so tired that it was a relief to hear that Eddie wasn’t kicking you out in the wee hours of the morning, “I really shouldn’t.”

“You really should.” Eddie insisted, clearly not open to argument. Luckily for him, you accepted the response instantly, your head still too foggy to find a good enough reason to leave. So, you nod smally while trying to stifle another yawn.

Eddie points his hand in the direction of the bedroom, and you immediately accept the invitation, confidently heading that way as if you owned the damn place. You didn’t catch the tug of a smile that graced Eddie’s lips as he followed just a step behind you.

You entered the dark bedroom and all but collapsed onto the bed, hearing a slight laugh leave Eddie’s lips; at least he found it funny instead of rude, not that you were terribly concerned with that right now. No, the only thing on your mind at the moment was curling into the mattress and sleeping undisturbed for the rest of the night. You comfortably wrapped your arms around one of Eddie’s pillows, inhaling his lingering scent without considering what you were doing. 

“You gonna sleep in that?” Eddie teased, reminding you that you were still in the workout clothes that you wore for skating. Like a stubborn child unwilling to do a task, you grunted, sitting back up and trying to find Eddie in the dark. You caught his silhouette digging through what you assumed to be a pile of clothes, eventually pulling something out and tossing it in your direction. The t-shirt weakly hit you in the chest before falling into your lap, so you started to pull off your own soiled shirt, letting it fall forgotten somewhere on the floor.

Light still filtered into the room through the gap in the door, so you caught the way Eddie spun around to give you privacy just as you started to tug at your bra; you couldn’t help but smile, finding it funny as he pushed the door closed. After all, it was dark enough that he probably couldn’t see anything; and even if he could, it didn’t matter. Right?

Eddie kept himself preoccupied, returning his attention to the stack of clothes as you pulled his scratchy t-shirt over your head; thanks to the darkness of the room, you didn’t catch the way he glanced back at you curiously. Once you were comfortable, you lied back down and began to burrow in the blankets, pulling them over your head as you listened to Eddie strip out of his own clothes.

A few moments later, one of the blankets was being yanked from the bed; you greedily tried to grab it before it was gone, but to no avail, which prompted you to poke your head out from the cocoon you’d built. You couldn’t quite find Eddie in the dark, but you nonetheless furrowed your brow in the direction you figured he was in.

“What are you doing?” You questioned groggily as your eyes began to adjust; you could now make out Eddie’s shadow as he appeared to turn to you.

“Sleeping on the floor.” He answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, nudging things aside with his foot before dropping the blanket to the ground. As he leaned over the bed to grab a pillow, you rolled your eyes and reached out to nudge him, making contact with bare skin before shuffling over to make room on the small bed.

“Like hell you are.” You attempted to snuggle into your new position, but seeing Eddie awkwardly lingering prompted you to reach over and give his arm a quick tug, “Get the fuck in the bed, Munson.”

Eddie hesitated a moment longer, and although he couldn’t see it, you stared at him in amused scrutiny. With a huff, you threw aside the blankets and hit the mattress once for emphasis, “Don’t tell me you’re nervous to share a bed with a girl.”

You readjusted to face away from Eddie, wrapping your arms around your pillow again and burying your face in it, getting cozy almost instantly. Behind you, he sighed before his weight shifted the mattress; just from the feel of his movements, you knew Eddie was awkwardly trying to stay as close to the edge of the bed as possible. You couldn’t help but roll your eyes with a smile at how stiff he was - at this rate, he wasn’t going to get a wink of sleep.

“Stop worrying about it, Eddie.” You muttered gently, curling up in the blankets as if you were a cat lying in the sun. A big yawn escaped you as you felt Eddie shift a little, and you knew you’d be out like a light any minute now, “Try to get some sleep, okay?”Eddie hummed in acknowledgement, and despite his best efforts to keep his distance, you could still feel his body heat radiating near you. Smiling comfortably to yourself, you quickly began to doze off, barely catching Eddie’s whispered “Night, princess…” before you fell back into a deep sleep.

.

.

addt. Author's Note | I couldn't keep these two apart for even an entire chapter, so I hope their lil reconciliation was worth the wait!

Taglist | @3rd-conchord @a-queen-blr @avalon-wolf @costellation-hunter @daisy-munson

@daisyridleyss @damon-loves-pie @damp4eddie @delilaaahhh @em0220

@frogtape @fromasgardandback @fckyeahlames @graciehams @kthomps914

@lotrefcp @love-anonymous-writer @marrowfrog00 @maskofmirrors @mewchiili

@miaajaade @mmmunson @munsonssweets @no-bueno-writer @rach5ive

@rcailleachcola @sav12321 @sheneedsrocknroll92 @steeldaisies @stormgrl19

[heyhowdyheythatsmeimonayoyo]

thinking about irep and his complex. he only hates poof bc he feels like he lives in the man's shadow as his anti-fairy and for good fucking reason. he is constantly overlooked bc poof is the first fairy baby in thousands of years and is uber powerful, and as his counterpart it's assumed that means he's none of those things. peri can try to encourage him that he's more than just a counterpart and that he can have his own identity but irep will just constantly be scrutinizing every way in which they differ or even the ways they are the same. i think this would be interesting to explore in an enemies to friends to lovers dynamic bc throughout the entire thing irep is going to have this complex and it will arguably lead to an unhealthy relationship. anything positive he thinks about peri he can easily believe he is the opposite since its always been that way. if we dont get more anti-fairy lore i am going to make it myself and it will be for a yaoi plot mark my words

[crappymixtape]

because of you • part one

PART II • PART III • PART IV • PART V • EPILOGUE // REQ -> @sattlersquarry ❝ an enemies to lovers fic with Steve? 💙 maybe they have to put aside their differences to fight upside down stuff and realize they actually have a lot in common 👀 • 18+  | ( 2.1k – little bit of king!steve, mostly angst with a dash of fluff, enemies to idiots in love, steve x reader )

B E C A U S E O F Y O U • P A R T O N E 🎶 good girls ( john carpenter remix ), chvrches

“Why is she even here?”

“Steve!”

A loud smack cut the air in two as Robin slapped a hand against Steve’s shoulder, rendering the rest of group there in Max’s trailer silent.

Your arms were crossed tightly over your chest, cheeks burning under his gaze, lips twisted into a scowl and trying hard to hold back the daggers you wanted so badly to throw at him.

“She doesn’t know what the hell we’re up against! How’s she supposed to–“

“Steve, none of us knew either, cut her a break.”

“Cut her a break and then what? We all get eaten by a fucking melted people monster?”

“That’s not fair–“

“It’s fine! It’s fine, Nancy,” you cut the girl off, standing quickly from your spot on the couch.

They’d been talking like this since you showed up. Like you weren’t right there in the room with them and honestly you kind of wished you weren’t anymore.

“I need some air,” you grumbled before giving Steve a pointed glare and shouldering open the front door.

The air outside was crisp as you sat down on the front stoop. Not a cloud in the sky and sunlight washing everything in soft golden light, but it all still felt so dark. Like it was harboring thick shadows. Long, spindly, and pitch black. Waiting to wrap their twisted fingers around you.

Waiting to dig into you and squeeze tight.

Waiting to lift you twenty feet into the air and snap your bones like twigs.

Waiting to leave you for dead.

And here was Steve fucking Harrington asking what right you had to be there. Asking what purpose were you gonna serve amongst this “holier than thou” joke of an army. Steve, Robin, Nancy and Eddie had already gotten their asses handed to them by what they’d called demobats, Steve arguably needing serious medical attention, and they wanted to go back? It took everything you had to not leave right there on the spot.

Hell, maybe you should, you thought for a minute. You didn’t owe them anything, especially Steve, but you did owe it to your best friend. The one who basically had a hit out on him. The one who wouldn’t hurt a goddamn fly, but all of Hawkins had already decided he was guilty and you weren't about to leave him.

Eddie.

❝ SO SAVE YOUR BREATH, GIVE A LITTLE OF WHAT YOU HAVE LEFT – DO THEY KNOW SOMETHING I DON’T? ❞

You met him two years ago under the bleachers at the Homecoming football game. It seemed like the perfect place to smoke the joint you’d messily rolled in the car right before you’d come into the stadium and apparently you’d been right, but someone else had already laid claim to it...

“Hate to break it to you sweetheart, but this is kind of my spot.”

He’d been all black leather and denim. Dark curls and clove. Silver rings and chains and heavy boots and maybe you should’ve been more intimidated, but the smile lines at the corners of his mouth gave him away.

“Don’t see a sign anywhere,” you’d shot back, no hesitation. Looked over at him all skeptics and attitude and took a long drag from your joint. Blew the smoke off in his direction and it made him grin like an idiot.

“Been sellin’ weed down here for like…the last three years so–actually, yeah. What the fuck, man. Someone owes me a sign.”

...And that was it, you were a goner. Laughing mid-toke and coughing so hard you cried and it made him feel so bad he gave you a baggy for free. Eddie "the freak" Munson and you – best friends.

Skipped all the stupid dances and football games with you. Paraded around the lunch room like an idiot with you. Threw fries back at the jocks for you when they called you a loser and sat on the floor in the bathroom with you when you cried.

So fuck “King Steve” Harrington.

You had every right to be there, probably even more than he did and you were gonna tell him to his face, but—

“Can I sit?”

The sudden sound of someone else made you jump.

“Jesus, Eddie.”

“Sorry,” he chuckled and sat down next to you. Gave you a sidelong glance and a small lopsided smile. “He’s really not so bad–”

“You’re joking. Right? Tell me you’re joking.”

The boy hummed, dropped his gaze down to the rings wrapped around his fingers and twisted the one on his thumb.

“He doesn’t want me here. None of them do,” you grumbled, frustration fed further by his non-answer and it pulled his eyes back up to you.

“Hey now, that’s not true–”

“Yes it is! Even Nancy looks at me like a kicked puppy.”

That pulled a laugh from him. Made him scoot closer to you and bump his shoulder into yours. “Listen, sweetheart,” the nickname made you soften, but you tried to keep your scowl in place, “We’re all in over our fuckin’ heads, hm? And Stevie boy…he’s seen some shit. He’s just trying to–”

“Just trying to what? Be a complete dickhead about it? Mission accomplished.”

Eddie sighed and roughed a hand over his face. Rested his elbows on his knees and laced his fingers together. He knew what you felt because he’d felt it too. Knew what it was like to get laughed at and mocked in the lunch room. Knew how it was supposed to be between him and the other boy. Hell, he nearly cut Harrington’s face off with a broken bottle a few days ago, but one thing was clear.

Change was possible and Steve Harrington was proof, he just wasn’t great at showing it.

“Alright. He could be less of a dick,” he conceded, propping his chin in his hand and looking at you with his big brown eyes. How could you be mad at that?

You mumbled under your breath about that not being the only thing, but fine, okay, only for you, Eds.

Reaching over he flicked at your fingers and looked at you from under his curls with a stern pinch between his brows. “He’s helping me, sweetheart. They all are. Shit, without them I’d probably be in jail already. Or in Carver’s trunk,” he tried a laugh, but it fell short at the end with the weight of his words and it made you grab at his hand and squeeze it.

“Shut up,” you chided softly, no heat behind it. The anger that had been swelling in your chest all but extinguished.

Silence settled between the two of you then, heavy and tinged at the edges with worry. With everything that was at risk and it started to gnaw at the pit of your stomach. What if you couldn’t fix it? And even if you could, this Vecna asshole was about to end the world anyway so what the hell did it matter?

How were a bunch of kids going to do anything about it?

“Ahem,” the door knocked into your back and jolted you back to earth. Pulled a gasp from you and when you looked up over your shoulder you felt your anger return ten fold. “We’re leaving, geniuses,” Steve announced, pushing at you with the door.

“Least you know you’re an idiot,” you mumbled under your breath, standing up from your spot to glare at him at eye level.

“Real cute,” Steve shouldered past you on the stoop, took the last two steps in one go and turned to face you both as he landed on the grass. “For you, Munson,” he said, throwing a mask at Eddie, “Courtesy of Mayfield.”

“What’s that for?” you couldn’t help asking as Max appeared at your side and pointed so casually – too casually – at the mask.

“Gonna steal a Winnebago. Get that on, dingus. Let’s go.”

“Nice,” Eddie grinned up at the red-headed girl and yanked the mask on over his head, “Thanks, Red.”

“Let’s go,” Steve urged, waving his hands at everyone to get out of the house and you felt your heart racing.

“Steal a Winnebago? Eddie. Fuck that–”

“Honey, I’m already a wanted man–” Eddie cut you off and readjusted the ridiculous looking mask a bit. “–c’mon,” he said, tugging at your belt loop to get with it.

“I–that doesn’t mean you can just steal–”

“We’re way past that,” Dustin chimed in, shoving past you just like everyone else, “Besides, if the world’s gonna end anyway, what’s it matter?”

Shit. The kid had a point. It was probably fine. It was just a trailer. Maybe you could give it back afterward? You needed it more than they did. Right?

“Dammit,” you grumbled under your breath, now the only one still standing around. “Wait for me!”

❝ THEY TELL ME I’M HELL-BENT ON REVENGE, I CUT MY TEETH ON WEAKER MEN, I WON’T APOLOGIZE AGAIN ❞

The first time you ran into Steve Harrington was sophomore year. In the hallway before Click’s class. You were cramming everything into your bag, but struggling with your history book when you heard it coming.

Tommy Hagan’s stupid laugh.

Your stomach sank, eyes glued on your things and trying to ignore it. He was in your science class the year before along with his ditzy girlfriend Carol and they always made sure to get a spot in the back just to make out.

“Need some help?”

When you finally looked up at him he’d stopped right in front of you, the grin on his lips sharklike as Carol smirked out from under his arm. Another boy you didn’t know was standing just behind them wearing a stupid member’s only jacket, half unzipped, and had hair that sat perfectly in place. Too perfect.

“That looks heavy, hm?” Tommy said grabbing your book, voice all saccharine sweet and sharp around the edges. Flipping through the pages he pulled a face, clicked his tongue and weighed it in his hand, then made a show of dumping it on the floor. “Whoops. Sorry!” he half-laughed and your cheeks burned.

“Bite me, Hagan,” you snapped back, bending down to grab your book, and it only made his grin grow wider.

“Ooo. She’s fiesty today, Stevie. I like it.”

And then he chimed in. Stevie. The had-to-be-douchebag that everyone called 'King Steve.'

“Probably on her period,” he said scoffing a laugh, all confidence and bravado and the look on his face was so smug. Thought he was so clever and funny and when you finally turned around it was to take the two steps up to him in one.

“Really? My period? So original.”

It made him swallow hard. Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat as he blinked back the flicker of surprise glinting in his eyes. He took a quick glance at Tommy like he didn’t want to disappoint him and then hardened his expression. Crowded down over you and nodded.

“Explains you being such a bitch.”

And it took the air from your lungs. Stuck in your sides sharp like a knife and you felt your throat tighten as Tommy and Carol snickered, but you wouldn’t let him have the satisfaction. Not here.

“Yeah. Bet you wish you had an excuse for being such an asshole,” you cut at him and it pulled an Oh shit! out of Tommy as he doubled over laughing, Steve’s mouth dropped open in shock.

Your feet couldn’t carry you away fast enough as you shoved your book in your bag and turned to leave, but you refused to run. Refused to let them see weakness, and as Tommy yelled down the hallway after you about tampons you raised a middle finger high in the air to punctuate just how much you hated them all.

Eddie met you in the bathroom after that, the one nobody used on the other side of school, and you told him everything. He let you have the joint he had tucked behind his ear for emergencies, listened to you and told you they weren’t worth it. Especially not Steve. Because even though Tommy started it, Steve was the one who dug in. Could have left it alone but didn’t and that was what really got you.

How obvious it was he knew how shitty they were being, but went along with it anyway because he had to maintain his status. Had to uphold how ‘cool’ he was and keep the line in the sand drawn between him and ‘the freaks’ like you.

So he wouldn’t get a second chance.

And he wasn’t worth your time.

Not then and sure as hell not now.

[ NOTE: THIS IS PART ONE OF A THREE PART SERIES, PART TWO AND THREE TO COME SOON ]

crappymixtape™ • steve harrington masterlist // stranger things masterlist ♥️ reblogs and comments keep me going, friends! ily! ♥️

[eddiesghxst]

PRICE OF FAME (PART 10/12)

helloooo, here are these two messy cuties once again, i hope you enjoyyy

18+ — MINORS DNI

pairing: rockstar!eddie x journalist!reader

summary: time is almost up but who could deny a good karaoke session?

contains: enemies to lovers trope, alcohol consumption, mentions of drug use, sexual themes, slight angst, those awkward/cringey scenes where they're singing (i apologize in advance), and lots of mixed feelings <3

word count: 3.9k

| previous part | next part |

| series masterlist | -main masterlist- |

song inspo for this chappy hehe:

Steve and Robin love karaoke. 

Nancy had warned you that the friendly pair practically fiend for a good karaoke sesh, but you hadn’t expected them to be as enthusiastic as they turned out to be.

For some odd reason, the city seems less busy today, so you, Eddie, and Eddie's friends can take up as much room as you’d like on the sidewalk. 

In front of you, Robin and Steve are seriously debating what the first song on the queue will be. Walking just a few paces behind them is Nancy, who’s quietly taking in the city's bright lights; and next to you, palm burning a hole through your hand with his addicting touch, is Eddie.

It’s stupid, you think. The way Eddie has seen you stripped down and bare, whining and quivering for him at what could arguably be your most vulnerable state, yet you still find your heart racing 100 miles a minute with this soft gesture of holding hands.

Sure, you’ve held his hand before, but not for this long. Not in public when it’s not the heat of the moment and you’re simply walking around. It’s weird and new, and it makes your stomach twist in a good way, but fuck— you chicken out when Robin and Steve turn to face you, Nancy, and Eddie.

“Steve wants to start karaoke with Queen— like any karaoke amateur would.” Robin huffs as Steve rolls his eyes. You slip your hand from Eddie’s hold before either of them can clock the gesture, and you avoid looking at Eddie when he clears his throat.

“Because it’s the perfect opener!” Steve stresses. “Everybody always does, Queen, Steve! Plus, I’m not even sure I can physically pull through with how long their songs are.” Robin argues. 

Steve’s jaw dropped as if Robin had just said the most foul thing he’d ever heard, “Their songs are not that long. And even if they are, they’re fucking amazing, so what’s your point.” “My point is we’re not starting the night with Queen.”

They’re an interesting group of friends, you’ll admit. Interesting in the sense that you swear they could be a part of some sitcom with how funny and unpredictable their conversations and interactions are.

By the time you reach the karaoke bar, Steve and Robin have an entire list of songs mentally queued up, and they make a beeline to the DJ operating the music as you and Nancy snag a table towards the middle of the room. The bar is to one side of the room while the stage is at the front, and the DJ booth is at the back; the rest of the room is full of tables where people chatter, laugh over drinks, and sing along with whoever is currently doing their performance. Eddie had split off to get drinks the second you entered the bar, so it’s just you and Nancy as you settle at the wooden table.

“Are you going to sing?” Nancy questions from the other side of the table. You pull a face, shrugging your shoulders up to your ears, “I’m not sure, maybe once I get a few drinks in me. How about you?” Nancy softly laughs with a playful roll of her eyes, “Unfortunately, I doubt Robin will let me escape this one.”

As if summoned, Robin slides into the seat right next to Nancy. “I put you down together, but there’s a few people ahead, so start thinking of the song you’ll sing.” She gestures between you and Nancy. You shrug, accepting defeat, and before you can pitch an idea for a song to Nancy, Robin is leaning her elbows against the table and blinking at you, “So, let’s cut to the chase. What’s going on between you and Eddie?” She asks.

Nancy’s eyes widen as she instinctively jabs her elbow into Robin’s ribs, “Ow!” “Rob, you can’t just ask people that— god.” You softly laugh as Robin rubs at her sore side. “Sorry if I’m interested in keeping tabs on my friend!” Robin sarcastically argued.

Nancy rolls her eyes and sends you an apologetic look. “Look, I’m just guessing— based on the fact that you two were in the back of a fancy restaurant— that something is going on. Oh— unless this is, like, a business thing, then you can totally ignore me.” Robin rambles.

“Robin,” Nancy stresses. Your cheeks seem to ache from the amused expression on your face as Nancy turns to you, “You don’t have to answer either way since it’s none of our business.” She says, voice raising near the end as she glares at Robin. Robin rolls her eyes, and you laugh with a shake of your head as you shift in your seat. “No, it’s fine, I understand, but um,” You shrug, “It’s just a business thing.” You finally answer.

And, technically, you’re not wrong. There is a business transaction going on between you and Eddie… and the rest of the band, which is primarily the basis of your relationship, but you’re not sure how appropriate it would be to say, ‘Yeah, I mean, Eddie hated me, but now he doesn’t, so then we fucked yesterday but then his manager basically told us to squash whatever that was, so now we’re kind of in a weird spot because we don’t hate each other but we can’t like each other. Oh yeah, and here’s the kicker, Eddie’s been a total asshole this entire time, and it’s fucked with my head a bit. But apparently, he wants to change!’

It’s a colorful mess of loopholes and twists and turns that probably nobody will fully understand aside from you and Eddie, so…. business thing it is. 

Robin seems to take that as an answer, but Nancy is now intrigued by your tone, “That didn’t sound very sure.” She playfully raises a suggestive eyebrow. Robin hums, “What happened to it being none of our business?” She points out, to which Nancy just waves a dismissive hand in response. “It’s a business thing, but…” Nancy prods. Your face warms as you lift your shoulders in a shrug, “I mean, it’s… it’s complicated.” 

Nancy nods with a shrug as she shifts in her seat, “So, how did you two meet?” 

You take a deep breath as you lean to rest your elbows on the table, “Well, I’m a writer for Rolling Stone magazine—” Robin gasps, grabbing your attention, “No shit? Nancy’s a journalist too— ow!” She turns to look at Nancy with a disgruntled look as she rubs her thigh, “Would you stop bullying me?” She frowns.

Before either of them can get far into bickering, Eddie and Steve come waltzing back to the table with drinks in their hands. Eddie snags a seat beside you and passes a drink to you; you smile as you gratefully take the glass and softly thank him. Steve plops down next to Robin, sliding her and Nancy their drinks as he says, “Alright, I hope everyone has their songs picked out because I plan on battling each and every one of you.”

Although the weather outside is on the more chilly side of summer days, you find your body warm with liquor and laughter as you, Nancy, and Eddie watch a tipsy pair of Steve and Robin sing a surprisingly good rendition of Huey Lewis’ Heart and Soul. You’ve shrugged off your sweater and tossed it over the back of your chair— and you’re thankful to have thrown on a tank top underneath because, most of the time, you hardly bother to wear anything beneath sweaters.

It’s their fourth song of the night, Eddie and Nancy have both gone up at least once, but you’ve been on the observant side mostly, enjoying the ongoing conversations you’ve had with Nancy. There’s a bowl of chips and salsa in the middle of the table, and Eddie’s arm is draped across the back of your chair, heat pouring from him and seeping all around to wrap you up in an Eddie-scented bubble— it’s nicer than you’d care or like to admit.

Nancy has turned around to watch and cheer on the performance; she’s become more animated and loose after a few drinks, and you laugh as Robin practically serenades her from the stage. You lean back in your chair, softly giggling as you slightly lean into Eddie, “So,” you grab your drink and glance at the boy on your side, “What’s the dynamic here?” You ask with a jut of your chin towards his friends.

Eddie hums, leaning further into his chair, and in turn, pressing himself closer to you. His breath is warm against your ear and cheek, curly strands brushing against your skin as he speaks, “So basically,” He dramatically sighs, and you smile at his dramatics as he gestures between his friends, “Nancy and Steve are exes from high school and Robin and Steve are best friends.” You nod, gaze darting between the friends as you connect the dots. “But,” He raises a finger over his glass, “Robin and Nancy are dating now.” Your eyebrows raise at the full circle of events, but you nod as your suspicions are finally confirmed. 

Eddie leans closer, voice dropping to a lower volume, “But at this rate, it’s safe to say Nancy’s playing third wheel for Steve and Rob since they practically share one brain cell.” You tilt your head, “Okay, I see it now.”

Nancy glances over her shoulder to glare at you and Eddie from her seat, “I heard that, assholes… you’re not wrong.” She grumbles. You and Eddie laugh as she turns back to face you both now that Steve and Robin are hopping off the stage.

“Steve’s actually seeing a girl now; she’s in nursing school.” Nancy pipes up, grabs a chip, and pops it into her mouth. Eddie leans forward at that, keeping his arm on your chair as he uses the other to grab a chip for himself,  “Nursing school?”

Nancy nods as she sips her drink, “He goes down to see her like every other weekend. And they run our phone bill up like hell.” 

Robin plops down into her seat, “What are we talking about? Steve’s hot nurse babe?” She asks, humming when Nancy nods. Robin scoffs as she turns to Eddie, “Can you believe they’ve been dating for, like, four months, and we have yet to even see a picture of her? They see each other every week!”

Eddie snorts, “Then who’s he talking to on the phone?” Robin shrugs, “Who knows at this point.”

Steve returns as if on cue, sitting down with a sigh as he glances at the table, “What’d I miss?”

“Nothing, just talking about your imaginary girlfriend.” Robin teases.

Steve groans, eyes rolling before glaring at his giggling friends— your cheeks hurt from smiling. “She’s real, okay? She’s real, and her name is Cassie, and the only reason you haven’t met her yet is because she’s literally in nursing school— she has a busy schedule!”

And although you wish Eddie and you had been able to finish your discussion without the abrupt interruption, you find yourself growing fond of this shade of Eddie— sure, you’ve seen him having fun and being unapologetically himself with Gareth and Jeff and even on stage, but this side of Eddie is softer— kinder, brighter— homey. 

You realize as you watch him singing his heart out to some mainstream pop song that Steve somehow talked him into doing. You’re more surprised that Eddie knows the lyrics, but you’re too tipsy to dwell on it because Nancy’s scooting onto the chair beside you and asking what song you two should sing because, “We have to outsing them, obviously.”

And, well, you hardly have the time to stop your lips before you lean in and tell her the song you’d like to sing. Nancy snickers, giggling at the obvious undertone of the chosen song, and she eagerly agrees because “He’s gonna shit his pants.”

You go back and forth on who will take which role— who will sing Tom Petty’s key, and who will sing Stevie Nicks's key— but then you eventually land on just singing together for the entirety of the song. When the boys finish their song, Nancy drags you up to the DJ to request the song and magically persuades him to let you skip the queue of people to go next. She’s a good flirt, that’s indisputable.

You should probably thank Nancy at some point for agreeing to this song regardless of how little information she has about your situationship with Eddie, but before you even get the chance to, you and Nancy are already singing the first line of the song— Baby, you'll come knocking on my front door. Same old line you used to use before— and well, Eddie’s head has never turned his head faster, but you avoid his gaze for as long as you can.

And you’re doing good; you’re doing so good, and then you get to the second chorus and lock eyes with Eddie as you sing along to the track with Nancy— Baby, you could never look me in the eye. Yeah, you buckle with the weight of the world. Stop draggin' my, stop draggin' my, stop draggin' my heart around— and, well… you think you made your point clear.

You and Nancy have a blast singing to Nicks and Petty, and when the song ends, the bar claps and cheers as they do after every performance, and you’re all smiles as you waltz back to the table, sitting next to the fidgeting boy you’d just indirectly serenaded. Steve and Robin are telling you and Nancy how well you did and teasing each other over specific parts of the performance, and they’re all so caught up in one another that they hardly notice as Eddie leans into your space, voice low and gravely as he speaks, “That was cruel, princess.”

You look at him, eyes falling to the ghost of a smirk that dances across his lips before you reach forward to grab your drink, wrapping your lips around the thin, black straw, maintaining eye contact as you shrug, “Did you get the hint?” You tease.

Eddie huffs around a laugh, shifting in his seat, left arm back to barricading the back of your chair, and you don’t fail to notice the tent in the crotch of his jeans. He rolls his tongue over his teeth, snickering when you raise an eyebrow, “Yeah… Yeah, I got the hint.” He nods, and you think you might see a pink tint dusting across his cheeks.

You smile, liquor making you bold as you blink up at him, “Good.”

It’s a long trip to the hotel with a pair of drunk best friends.

They ramble a lot— Steve and Robin— you come to find out, and Nancy and Eddie have become experts at handling them with ease. You realize this as you watch them get their friends tucked into bed. Nancy is tipsy, but Eddie informed you that she has a weird thing with tequila where she becomes highly functioning, so she’s moving about the room with grace and precision.

When the drunk pair is finally tucked into bed, Nancy walks you and Eddie to the door of the hotel room, thanking you for taking the time to make sure they got in safe. “I would say see you at breakfast, but I doubt these two will have crawled from the grave by then.” Nancy gestures back to Robin and Steve. 

You don’t blame them; they’re basically on holiday, and you would do the same.

Your and Eddie’s rooms are on a different floor, and it’s a long ride up to the top, especially with the burning desire for one of you to say something— what, you’re not sure.

“I like your friends.”

That was you talking, you realize when Eddie turns to you with a smirk, “Yeah? They didn’t scare you off with their incessant shithead behavior?” He jokingly questions. You hum with a laugh, “I’ve dealt with worse.” You tease.

Eddie walks you to your room, his intoxicating smell and presence hovering around you as you unlock the door before stepping in. You turn around, hand resting on the edge of the door as you look at the curly-haired boy, “Good night, Eddie.”

Eddie hums, leaning against the door frame, eyes flickering to the twist of your mouth before reaching your eyes again, “Not gonna finish our conversation?”

You scoff, rolling your eyes, “I hardly believe you’d be doing much talking if I let you in right now.” And you don’t think you’re ready to travel down that path again. Not so soon when you have the events of tonight to digest, not to mention the gift sitting in your bag.

Eddie shrugs with a small smirk, “I can multitask.”

His gentle smile is beautiful. Alluring and unique, and his eyes are taking you with such an intensity that you think you might melt if you stay a minute longer. “I didn’t choose that song for the hell of it, you know?” You ask. “Stevie’s got a mean fucking range. Lord knows if I’ll be covering her again.” You grumble. And really, how high can the woman go with her rasp?

Eddie laughs, turning his head and glancing at the empty hallway before looking back to you, “Yeah, I know,” He softly replies.

You nod and he takes a deep breath, nodding towards your bag slung over your shoulder, “Listen to the tape.” He reminds you.

You tilt your head, clenching the strap of your bag before speaking, “Are you under the impression that this would make up for everything?” You ask.

And you don’t mean for it to sound harsh or hurt his feelings, but you have to let him know that if that’s what he’s hoping, then he’s wrong. This doesn’t fix everything. This doesn’t fix the confused feelings and the harsh words. It’s a start, but it’s not a finish as well.

And although Eddie’s expression falters, he shakes his head, “No. But I still want you to listen.”

You nod quietly, gazing at each other and wishing you could start on a different foot. You clear your throat, straighten your stance, and step back. “Good night, Eddie.” You softly say.

By the time you finish showering and getting ready for bed, the only thing running on your mind is the pending need to sleep. The maids had changed out the seats so they’re not doused with the ghost of Eddie’s cologne and shampoo— but you don’t go long with Eddie out of your mind because there’s a hard object that pokes into your arm when you settle into the bed.

You groan, twisting your arm around your frame to dig out the small object from below you, and when your fingers wrap around the plastic case, you immediately remember the task you’d had for tonight— listen to the tape.

The sleep that weighed down on your body is suddenly gone as you sit up to grab your walkman and headphones before settling back into the comfy sheets.

You try your best to ignore the swirling feeling of nerves and excitement in your gut as you put on your headphones and slip the tape in, but you find yourself nipping at the skin of your nails as the tape winds either way.

It’s silent for a moment, the sound of shuffling and the soft thud of what you think might be someone setting a glass down. There’s a clearing of a throat— it’s Eddie, you can tell— and your stomach twists in anticipation at the first ring of a piano chord. 

The beginning chords are soft and slow, gentle enough to lull you to sleep if you sink into it, and the recording is so vivid that you can hear the dull thud of each key beneath the press of his fingers.

Your heart races when Eddie’s voice seeps into the melody. It’s a ballad, something Corroded Coffin doesn’t have much of, and you wonder why because the softness of Eddie’s voice is arguably one of the most heavenly sounds to have ever touched your ears.

I'm feeling a way, off some kinda drug

Maybe it's lust, maybe it's love

I know I said I'd straighten out a week ago

I'm fiending though, 'bout to reach my peak, you know

The city's got me falling now

It’s… fuck, it’s fucking good, and you haven’t even gotten to the chorus, but god, your heart skips a beat at the following line because it’s a direct callout to you.

I'm fading away, I'm losing my head

I know you said leave, but fuck what you said

As much as you wish you could say you hate it… you don’t.

Even though the song is about you and your twisted relationship with Eddie— which definitely aids to your feelings towards the track— it’s genuinely a good song. Which, okay, is slightly annoying, but you can’t find it in yourself to care as the song carries on.

The future's never looked so bright, it's blinding me

It's hard to see, I'm swimming through dopamine

Your body looks like heaven and

I wanna give up, I just wanna leave

I'm floating away, I'm caught in the breeze

The outro of the song comes and slows down, a softer sound than before filling your ears, and shit— you’re at the edge of your seat now because Eddie is singing so gently, and it has your mind swirling. 

I can't believe this is happening

What did I do? What did she do to me?

…

Mending my brain again

Please don't give up on me

This hurts tremendously

How will this end for me?

When the song dies off, you can hear shuffling again before the track ends, and you’re left with spinning thoughts as you take your headphones off and let the silent and dark room envelope you.

You have to take a moment, yanking the string of the bedside lamp to light up the room so you can see your thoughts more clearly because— how do you feel? You’re not sure, honestly, and the thud of your heart beating in your chest only clouds your judgment even more because— isn’t this what you asked for? For Eddie to be open and honest with you, to tell you his true feelings and where he’s at when it comes to you. And is it enough?

Would it ever be enough for Eddie to give you one simple, stripped-down track to allow him the chance to mend what he’d ruined? 

Your heart wants it to be enough, but realistically, it’s not. Eddie has only just begun his journey to forgiveness, and you have to remind yourself that it’s not wrong to be hesitant to let him in, neither is it bad for you to want him as badly as you do. You’re both learning, and you’re both trying to fix the damage that’s been done, and it might take time, but if you both want it— if Eddie really wants you— then the time and work it takes to fix things won’t be a bother.

You listen to the song two more times, maybe more than twice, and you let the words sink into your bones until you practically have it engraved into your mind, lulling yourself to sleep with the haunting echo of Eddie’s voice and words bouncing in the walls of your skull.

And in your dreams, you meet Eddie, and for the split second you have with him there, everything is perfect— and by the time you wake up, the ticking time bomb to make your choice is now louder than it’s ever been before.

————

part eleven

————

a/n: OMG HIII, you made it to the end again !!! i would just like to specify that the song eddie has written and sang for birdie in this chappy (23 x chase atlantic) is not entirely a nod towards their relationship! reader is not specifically 23 years old nor is she struggling with any type of substance abuse, the lines that were used in this chapter are the lines that actually adhere to them imo, OKAY I THINK U GET IT I'LL SHUT UP NOW.

also, this is not the last of the songs that eddie has written abt birdie btw🫣

i hope u enjoyed and i love love love reading any and all feedback as well as ur silly thots <3 AND AS ALWAYS, TY FOR READING, I LOVE U SO BIG MWAH <3

————

cutie lil taglist: @mastermindmiko @whataboutbibi @ryanmxrie @ihatepeanutss @tlclick73 @motherfckerrr @emxxblog @ye0nvibezzn @eddiesguitarskills @bibieddiesgf @chloe-6123 @micheledawn1975 @demxnicprxncess @emma77645 @sidthedollface2

@daddyhetfield @s-u-t @hereforshmut @mmunson86 @welcometohellsock @lma1986 @birdsinmywalls @animechick555 @sheneedsrocknroll92 @spideydreams00 @lorosette @prestinalove @sirensleepingsoundly @nabiiturner @catherinnn @mossiswriting

[lizzy06]

Kyoutani Kentarou x Reader Fic Recs!!(Tumblr/AO3/Wattpad)

Haikyuu! Fic Rec Masterlist

Aoba Johsai Fic Rec Masterlist

Collaring the Mad Dog✨✨ by Amoralyn (fluff). One day, staying late to clean up the classroom for a classmate who didn’t want to, you pass by the gym and happen to look in as the volleyball team is practicing…and you see a boy who changes everything. [COMPLETED]

Happy Birthday, Kyoutani~✨ by Amoralyn (oneshot, fluff) Kyoutani's first birthday with a girlfriend, who's determined to make it special for him. With a little help from a very special person, she just might succeed in a way she hadn't imagined… [COMPLETED]

tell me again✨ by laurus_nobillis (oneshot, fluff, smut at end(skippable for sfw reader!)) You accidentally admit to your best friend that you love him - and he wants to hear it again. [COMPLETED]

Growl |Kyotani Kentaro/Reader|✨ by Jayce_Writes(fluff) It all started with a growl……Which was odd considering it came from a human. [COMPLETED]

All Bark No Bite by @jesswritesthat (oneshot, fluff) Mad Dog is known for being scary, but the tables turn when a date gets turned into babysitting. [COMPLETED]

Tame by @jesswritesthat (oneshot, fluff) Playing Volleyball with Mad Dog outside of school forms a friendship of sorts, not that he’ll ever admit to that. [COMPLETED]

Exchanges✨ by @jesswritesthat (oneshot, fluff) Seijoh know there’s something between Mad Dog and yourself, but that doesn’t make his unique behaviour toward you any less shocking. [COMPLETED]

Angry confessions by @d0llpie (oneshot, fluff) You’ve tried everything to make Kyotani realise you like him but he thinks you’re joking. [COMPLETED]

Kyoutani Kentarou (Maddog)x fem! Reader by @cutietobio (oneshot, fluff) kyoutani and reader on a date and the rest of aoba johsai end up seeing them. [COMPLETED]

Snow by @jesswritesthat (oneshot, fluff) Being at war against Seijoh is bound to be tough, but fortunately you’re not alone in this battle. [COMPLETED]

Mad Dog has a Girlfriend by @pan-fangirl-345 (oneshot, fluff) No one expected Kyoutani to have a girlfriend, much less one that loves physical affection as much as you do. They also didn't expect you to be from Tokyo or that you would stop by to see your boyfriend while you're home from the US. Surprise! [COMPLETED]

Kyoutani Kentarou x Reader by @chimielie (oneshot, fluff) Just you and your friend at the grocery store. [COMPLETED]

Volleyboy Blondie✨ by @pan-fangirl-345 (oneshot, fluff)There’s a boy that you set to at the community center. Your brother and his best friend are overprotective. You don’t have many friends. You’re about to find out how these three things correlate.

Every Season - Kyoutani x Reader / tumblr by @mimi-cee-hq/mimi_cee(oneshot, fluff) Kyoutani finally introduces Y/n to the team. When they all comment on how he got such a sweet and innocent girlfriend, Kyoutani lets out a snort. A cute and funny getting together story of different kisses throughout the years and seasons. [COMPLETED]

we look good together by @howisavedtheworld (oneshot, fluff) kyoutani ruins your pictures. [COMPLETED]

CUTE CAT AND MAD DOG by @iwaizumisbabe (oneshot, fluff) in which you are Ken's girlfriend and nobody on the volleyball team knows. [COMPLETED]

Once Upon A Dream✨✨ by ThisNoodleWrites(oneshot, soulmate au, fluff) For almost 3 years, Kyoutani had seen glimpses of your life in his dreams. It was his favourite part of the day. So, when you move to Miyagi, he's far too excited to meet you. Only, he doesn't know your name or your what you look like. And what's a soulmate supposed to do when you go silent at school? [COMPLETED]

the art of (not) screwing a routine by orphan_account (oneshot, fluff) kyotani wakes up and decides he wants to screw the routine by confessing to you. it’s not as easy as it sounds. [COMPLETED]

Of Enemies And Lovers by ThisNoodleWrites (oneshot, soulmate au, fluff) In a world where soulmates exist, but people have different soulmates identifying things, you are stuck with arguably the worst: on one wrist is your enemies name, on the other is your soulmates name. The catch: you don't know which is which. So when you happen to meet the owner of one of these names, how're you meant to react? [COMPLETED]

Call him by his name by HowlingKnight (oneshot, fluff, iwa's sis! reader) You meet Kyoutani Kentarou, the broody boy Oikawa dubbed as "Mad dog". You realize that Kyoutani might not really be fine with this nickname, and it slowly and unexpectedly brings you closer. [COMPLETED]

Little Fighter by Sk3tchkidd (oneshot, fluff) Being the wife of Kentaro Kyotani the former 'Mad Dog' is now a father with another baby on the way. [COMPLETED]

Jerk by QuitaQuita5 (oneshot, fluff) He irritates you for so many reasons, mainly because he is always being a jerk to you, but also because you really like him. [COMPLETED]

If you can't believe in others, atleast believe in us by @koushisatori (oneshot, hurt/comfort)In the beginning, you weren’t sure why your boyfriend is ignoring you. [COMPLETED]

Insecurities by @polarbearaone (oneshot, fluff with pinch of angst) Kyōtani insecurities fuel his jealousy. What happens when he finds out you’re the new baseball team manager.... [COMPLETED]

[l0stfoster]

//implications of child abuse/neglect, (greyscale) self harm (lore related, will be under the cut)

Can I interest you in some Cursed!Paul doodles chat

Very quick TLDR because I have plans to make a bigger post buuuut.

- Paul’s great grandma all the way down the family tree was the witch who caused the curse, and the women in the family inherit the curse & witchcraft magic as well.

- Paul’s mom was joyous to have a son because he wouldn’t inherit the magic…bad news girl. He did. She hates him for it.

- His dynamic with Darry goes friends to enemies to enemies with benefits to ????? to lovers. The gang torments him as their revenge (deserved) because he’s partially crashing at the Curtis’ place after he got kicked out for both re-sparking his magic and. Yk. Dating a fae (not deserved)

- Uhh Paul��s mom tried using her magic to make him forget about his, but post-rumble he channeled it again and started using it. He hates it arguably more than his parents do L.

- He tries using Blood Magic to get rid of his powers and that, does not work!!! Sorry Paul. His parents are more upset that he failed and not that he’s actively bleeding.

- He’s got a cat familiar named Umbra

[sunshinesteviee]

only you - s.h.

summary: steve finally wakes up after surviving the upside down, and all he can ask for is you, though you're not sure why; gn!reader wc: 2.1kwarnings: mentions of injuries, the hospital, a touch of angst?, slight enemies to lovers, canon? we don't know her a/n: this was originally supposed to be a blurb for my 8k celebration, but got way out of hand! for my wifey @sparklingsin

You’re lucky to have escaped the upside down fairly unscathed, you know that. You’d been scratched and bruised, briefly strangled by the vines, but aside from that, you’re okay. Most of your friends weren’t that lucky, and many of them sit in hospital beds still. Meaning you’re still rotating between their rooms, making conversation with Eddie, who, despite having literal chunks of his torso torn out by the demobats, seems to be in good spirits, comforting Max when she’s awake, and sitting silently in Steve’s room. Steve, who has yet to wake up. Steve, who you’re not totally sure would even want you there. 

The relationship you have with Steve is complicated, to say the least. You’d never liked him in high school. He’d been arrogant and rude, and at times, he could be a bully. It wasn’t until a weird twist of fate — Max being terrorized by this otherworldly creature — that you really got to know Steve. He wasn’t the same as he’d been in high school, but you still had your reservations. The feeling seemed to be mutual; Steve didn’t seem to care for you much either with how cold and distant he could be. And still, you find yourself spending a large chunk of your time sitting in the silence of Steve’s room by yourself, willing him to wake up.  

When it’s just you, though, you pull the chair in the corner of the room closer to his bed, and grasp his hand in yours, whispering soft encouragements to him, even though you’re not sure he can hear you, “Don’t give up now, Steve.” 

With each passing day, you lose a bit of hope. Eddie, who had suffered an arguably worse attack from the demobats, had woken up quickly. Max, who the doctors still don’t know if she’ll fully recover, is making conversation sometimes, even though she sleeps most of the day. The doctors think that on top of being attacked and bitten like Eddie, maybe Steve had just worn himself too thin. He had been attacked, and then carried on like nothing had happened. He’d winced as Eddie’s rough denim vest slid over his bitten back and arms, but hadn’t said anything else. You still don’t know Steve very well, but you saw how much he pushed himself to keep everyone else safe. And now everyone was worried he’d pushed himself past his breaking point. That he might not recover. 

One day, Dustin bursts into Max’s room with a breathless gasp of your name, eyes wide. Your heart races, and you know that something has happened, though you have no idea if it’s good or bad. Dustin’s eyes dart from you to Max, and then back to you, “Sorry to interrupt, I just— Steve’s finally awake.” 

“He is?!” Max asks, an urgency in her voice you haven’t heard before. 

Dustin nods, still looking at you intently. The way he’s looking at you gives you a funny feeling, and your stomach turns as he murmurs your name again and adds, “He’s asking for you.” 

“Me?” you ask, jaw dropping as you balk at your younger friend. You can’t imagine why Steve would ask for you, of all people. 

He nods again, “He won’t… All he can ask for is you. Won’t say anything other than your name.” 

You glance at Max, who quickly nods, and you shoot up out of your seat, following Dustin out of her room and down the hall to Steve’s room. There’s a bit more commotion behind the door than you’ve seen in a while, and it causes you to freeze. You’re not sure what you’ll find in there. Dustin notices your hesitation, the way your hand pauses at the handle. He knows about the moments you’d had with Steve, when no one else was around. It had been an accident, really, when he’d opened the door, and found you bent over Steve’s bedside, grasping his hand tightly in yours like you never wanted to let go. At the time, he’d quickly and quietly backed out of the room, but stored that bit of information in the back of his head for later. He knew the dynamic between you and Steve was odd, but he also knew that Steve cared about you, even if he hadn’t known how to show it. “It’s okay,” he assures, nodding to you, “He asked for you.”

Sucking in a deep breath, you nod and push open the door to find that Steve really is awake, and is half-sitting up in bed. He’s still connected to quite a few wires, and there are a bunch of nurses surrounding the bed, checking his vitals, but he’s awake. He’s awake, and he’s alive. You let out a soft gasp, hand flying to your mouth, as you breathe out his name, “Steve.” 

You’re not quite sure how he heard you, your voice had barely been above a whisper, but Steve’s head whips to the doorway, eyes going wide when he sees you there. His voice is raspy from not using it for a while as he croaks out your name. 

“Steve,” you say again, louder this time as you start across the room, “You… you’re okay. You’re awake.”

A few of the nurses step away, realizing that you’re the person he’d been asking for, letting you step up to his bed. Steve cracks a tight smile, and he nods, “Yeah, I am. At least I think I’m awake… this isn’t a dream, right?” 

Laughing a little, you shake your head, “No, not a dream. This is real. Are you…” You trail off, not even sure what you were going to ask, and your hand pauses it’s descent to Steve’s arm. You’d held his hand frequently while he was out, but you’re not sure he’d want you touching him now. Instead, you let out a soft sigh and ask, “How are you feeling?”

“Umm… you know. Weird. Everything… everything hurts.” His voice is still scratchy, and he stumbles over his words with a wince, eyebrows drawing together and nose scrunching up. “Shit.”

“Shit,” you echo softly, sinking into the same chair you’d already spent many hours in over the last few days. The same chair you’d sat in only an hour ago, begging Steve to wake up for the millionth time. Your eyes dart down to your lap where your fingers pick at a piece of fraying denim. For some reason, your voice comes out shaky when you speak again, “I-I’m glad you’re awake, Steve. Dustin, he—“

Steve cuts you off abruptly, unable to help himself from blurting out, “I heard you, you know.”

You feel like the air has been sucked out of your lungs, and the only thing you can think of saying is, “What?”

“While I… while I was out, I could still hear everything. When people were talking to me and stuff. I heard the things you were saying. About the kids, and Max and Eddie. And… about me not giving up, needing me to wake up.”

Heat rushes to your face, and no matter how far you sink into your chair, it won’t swallow you whole, unfortunately. Unsure of what to say, you pull one foot up off of the floor, hugging your knee to your chest, and press your cheek into your shoulder in an attempt to hide. You can’t look at Steve as you reply, “Oh… Steve, I—”

He interrupts you again, voice as firm as it can be in his current state, “Thank you.”

Your gaze snaps up to meet his, eyebrows drawn together in confusion. Shaking your head slightly, you murmur, “What for?”

“For caring.” This time, Steve is the first to look away as he tilts his head back against his pillows, eyelashes fluttering as he blinks rapidly. “I mean, I know those twerps care, and Robin and Nance, too, but… I don’t know. Means a lot that you care even when you don’t particularly like me.”

“Steve, I don’t—“ you pause, taking a moment to collect yourself, and then scoot the chair you’re sitting in closer to his bed. “In high school, yeah, I wasn’t particularly fond of you.” Steve opens his mouth to say something, but you keep talking, “But you’re a different person now, I think. I hope. Max is like a little sister to me, so seeing how much you care about her — how much you did to protect her — means a lot.”

A soft pink springs to Steve’s cheeks, crawling up to his ears as he stares at you. He pulls his bottom lip between his teeth and nods, glancing away again, “I am. A completely different person, I mean. I-I’m sorry if I was ever awful to you in high school. How… how is Max, by the way?” 

You wave your hand in the air, dismissing Steve’s worries. Whatever had happened in high school was behind you now. His question, though, makes you realize that the still doesn’t know everything, and that you’re taking up all of his time. “She’s okay. I mean, she’s alive. Not totally herself, though. I can— I don’t want to take up all of your time, I’m sure you’d rather talk to Robin or Dustin or Max. I’ll see if a nurse can bring Max to your room.” 

As you stand up to leave, Steve’s hand darts out, fingers catching yours to stop you from moving. You notice a flash of pain on his face as he outstretches his arm towards you and mumbles, “Stay.” 

“Okay,” you nod quickly, not wanting him to push himself any further, and drop back down into your chair next to him, “Okay, I’ll stay. Don’t hurt yourself on my behalf, Harrington.” 

Steve huffs out a laugh in an attempt to mask the pain on his face. Instead of saying anything, though, he asks, “What about Munson? I was worried he wouldn’t make it when we got to him.” 

“Oh, Eddie’s fine. They treated him, and he was begging to be up on his feet after like two days. He’s still here, his room is down the hall, but he’s doing well. Maybe I could ask for you guys to room together?” You finish with a mischievous grin, and don’t realize that the pad of your thumb is rubbing back and forth across the top of Steve’s hand. 

“Oh, god, please don’t,” Steve groans with a grimace, nose wrinkling, “Turns out I don’t mind the guy, but I think he’d drive me insane in here.”

Letting out a small laugh, you nod in agreement, “I know what you mean. But it’s actually been good to have him around, he’s been keeping everyone’s spirits up.”

“Has it been bad?” Steve asks after a beat of silence, pursing his lips slightly, eyebrows furrowing together.

“Steve, no one was sure when — or if, quite frankly — you’d wake up.”

“Oh.” His voice is small as the reality of the situation starts to set in, “I didn’t realize.” 

“Needless to say, we’re all glad you’re awake,” you murmur in reply, your gaze set on him.

It’s quiet again as Steve glances down to where your fingers are still intertwined with his, but he can’t find it in himself to pull back. Just as he’s about to reply, the door to Steve’s room flies open, the handle nearly banging into the wall as Robin bursts in, eyes wide and voice frantic, “Steve!” 

The two of you jump in surprise, your hands flying apart as you scramble backwards into your chair. 

Robin looks and sounds nearly angry, but you know she’s on the verge of tears as she rushes across the room, pointing at Steve, “You just had to wake up the one time I went home, didn’t you, you asshole?! If you ever scare me like that again, Steven, so help me god—“ 

Steve grins, wincing once more as he pushes himself further up in bed, and Robin gives him a hug that you’re worried will cause him even more pain. You’ve come to learn that Robin is quite the talker, and she’s quick to launch into a rant — something about how worried she’s been, and updating Steve on everything that’s happened. 

You know that your conversation with Steve is done for now, and start moving towards the door. He notices, giving you an apologetic look over Robin’s shoulder — a fleeting look before turning his full attention back to his best friend. It’s only a moment, but you have a feeling there’s much more to be discussed at a later time. You'd sit by his bed all day, if he asked.

And he does ask for you again, only an hour later.

[villain-byteniwoha]

Can we talk about the creative (queer) writing choice in building up Chuuya's most powerful yet self-destructive ability to only have the failsafe centered around Dazai?

Or the even more glaring characterization of Chuuya's unstable relationship with his humanity and how Dazai's ability is literally named, "No Longer Human,"—which, I digress, perfectly follows his real-life namesake, sure. But for the interpretation to reflect such importance on their parallels all traces back to Asagiri's heavy emphasis in partnership; one of Bungo Stray Dogs' key elements in world and character building.

Of course, two characters can be friends without forcing a rose-colored perspective. That's a reasonable take as any.

Arguably, two characters can very much be coded romantically through incredibly pointed text that tiptoes around the word, "friendship."

Because from the very beginning, what kind of relationship did Dazai and Chuuya have?

First, they were enemies—with Chuuya very much against Port Mafia and, by extension, Dazai, even though he wasn't an official member yet. Then rivals set out to achieve a common goal; the only winning hand being, who would get there first (and mind you, this all happens within the same arc/timeline). Fast forward to a year, they are begrudging partners. Professional, sure, but still teenagers who would argue at every other sentence. Yet, they will also have each other's backs.

Their name as a duo has already been written in Yokohama's underground history books; they are terrifying on their own but together, they are legendary.

Now, I don't know about you, but a brain-and-brawn duo trope? An annoyance-to-partners trope? A violent meetcute ending in a friendship trope? Better yet, an enemies or rivals to lovers trope? Sound really romantic to me (and that's not even everything because there's much more to explore, with soukoku in relation to other partnerships in the series.)

The writing choices made for Dazai and Chuuya just sound really romantic to me, actually.

[samthehyena]

sam's togachako fic rec masterlist

So the tumblr thread with togachako recs from the other day inspired me to make this post that’s supposed to be a masterlist of my togachako recs. I’m sure I’ve forgotten to add some of the recs I’ve included in my ao3 author’s notes before LMAO. Also, I’m planning to update this list with any new togachako recs I want to add in the future. For now I'm only including completed fics.

1K-5K

"The first one to stay" by iceandfire13 | G | 1.8K | Hurt/Comfort | Greek Mythology Fusion | Grief/Mourning

A lovely fic with lyrical prose in which Himiko is Medusa and Ochako is her blind GF. It explores Himiko's profound grief over Jin and her relief of finally having human connection be attainable again.

"An Easier World" by JajaLala | T | 3.6K | Reincarnation | Childhood Friends | Open Ending

A nice little fic from arguably one of the best femslash writers in that fandom. It checks off all the boxes for everything I could want out of a Togachako fic: a theme of acceptance, exploring what could have been in another life and SO MANY cute moments. Also, the ambiguous ending just feels so right.

"Claret" by NefarioussNess | M | 1.8K | Post-Canon | Redemption | Biting

A heartfelt bite-sized read that features Himiko and Ochako navigating life together and quirk prejudices in the aftermath of the war. It's so soft with references to spicy moments sprinkled in. (Who doesn't love Togachako and THE BITING?) It's just so sweet to see Himiko trying to grow beyond her past and having Ochako to rely on.

"Love Me As You" by Ezray | E | 3K | Quirk Use During Sex | Body Worship | Soft

One of my fav Togachako smut one shots. It's so sweet and cute and I want to craddle it in my arms. I love how the story shows Himiko helping Ochako work through self-esteem issues - also, what's not to love about technically self-cest.

"Thunderstorm Confessions" by GanglyLimbs | E | 1.3K | College AU | Fluff and Smut | Enemies to Lovers Vibes

The university setting suits Togachako's dynamic really well. I love Himiko's pastel goth aesthetic and Ochako's initial animosity toward her strange lab partner before growing enamored.

"all this love (i've gotta keep to myself)" by a_sentimental_man | G | 2.4K | Soulmates AU | Fluff and Angst | Happy Ending

I really enjoyed this soulmates AU one-shot since it tied in so well with how much Togachako loves each other despite the odds seemingly being against them. This story really is a testament to how there is no universe in which Ochako could possibly hate Himiko.

“Just a date” by  LifeofMystery | G | 2.7K | Matchmaking | Humor | Pining

A super cute one-shot with a unique matchmaking setup! I was especially fond of the way Ochako’s gay panic was written and Himiko’s dialogue was incredibly fun to read. The parallels drawn between Himiko and Ochako in the fic are super compelling!

“never not for you”  by dorothycanfly | T | 1.4K | Fluff | Love Confessions | Established Relationship

This is fluffy togachako established relationship oneshot has some gorgeous poetic prose that makes for an evocative read! It also just was such a soft vibe to it that makes this fic feel like a warm hug every time I read it.

“When she loved me” by Lady_AdoreCanyon |T |  1.6K | Childhood Friends | Songfics | Homophobia

I love this songfic so much!!! It utilizes a vignette style to hit some really poignant notes by giving glimpses it Himiko and Ochako’s past as childhood friends which is later contrasted by their reunion in the present day. The fic packs a punch with some excellent hurt/comfort.

“Right Where You Left Me” by touyastreasure | T| 3.7K | Post-Canon | Hurt/Comfort | Grief

This is some absolutely gut-wrenching hurt/comfort with parallels between togachako and dabihawks. I think it's one of the best togachako fics I've read in a while.

“Make-believe” by iceandfire13 | T | 1.7K | Actor AU | Sexuality Crisis | First Kiss

Actor AU togachako? YES PLEASE! The first fic I read in this fandom was an actor AU so I’ve always had a soft spot for this particular niche. Anyways, there’s a lot of cute moments in this and the pining is very strong in the best way possible. Also, the confession scene at the end is totally cute. There’s also some fun nods to krbk and excellent dialogue between Ochako and Katsuki.

“Double Entendre” by Its_Kingston | T | 2.6K | Chatfic | Humor | Miscommunication

I feel like I happen to be the EXACT target audience for this delightful cracky fic. It’s a humorous togachako chatfic (which is my jam) with some cheeky innuendo as well as some excellent and immersive HTML formatting. I also love how this fic provides both Ochako and Himiko’s POV to get the full picture :)

5K-15K

“Pleasing Our Infernal Princess” by intheeveningsunrise | 8.5K | Isekai | Scum Villain Fusion | Useless Lesbians

There is some excellent Ochako introspection and I like how genre-savvy this fic is. Himiko and Ochako’s relationship is also explored in a very fun way as Ochako tries to escape her predestined fate and Himiko manages to see Ochako for who she is at heart. Also, there’s some excellent platonic scenes between Ochako and Bakugo. As someone who hasn’t read scum villain I can vouch that this fic is an excellent read even if you aren’t familiar with SVSSS. In general, I highly recommend giving this a read if you love isekai/transmigration stories and femslash. There is also an incredibly fun twist at the end of this fic :)

"Keep Me Your Secret" by aphrodaisyacs | T | 11.5K | Role Reversal | Traitor Uraraka Ochako | Secret Relationship

An absolutely stellar role reversal fic that stays true to Ochako's and Himiko's characterizations as their lives take a very different trajectory. Ochako's desperation as she tries to fight against the metaphorical shackles tying her down and the pressure the HPSC puts on Himiko makes this story so engaging. This fic was the VERY FIRST togachako fic I ever read and to this day it holds up as one of my all-time favorites!!!!

“On Monsters and Lesbians and the Inevitable Overlap Between the Two” by mor | E | 11.1K |Modern-Day Setting | Keres!Toga | Roommates

While I have not read this fic yet (it’s been on my TBR for ages), my main enabler for all things femslash has been singing this fic’s highest praises. According to her, this is an excellent fic to read to get into the togachako ship since it hits many key tropes for the ships (e.g. Ochako’s sapphic internal panic) and strikes the perfect balance between being a meaty enough fic to thoroughly explore the ship while still remaining a one-shot. Also this fic has Greek mythology elements :3

“these selfish (butterf)lies” by sabertoothhousecat | G | 12K | Future Fic | Hurt/Comfort | Secrets

Lowkey this might be one of the best togachako fics I’ve ever read and it still holds up really well with the current togachako landscape despite being written before the togachako manga chapters were dropped. It has an excellent characterization of Himiko and delves into the anxieties of starting over in a poignant way. Also the identity shenanigans and the way guilt festers as Himiko dances around the truth is very compelling. There are also moments of some super cute banter. And this fic is meaty enough to really get a taste of what makes togachako such a fun ship but is short enough to read in one sitting. An excellent first togachako fic to read if you want to get into the ship.

Greater than 15K

"Kiss Her Knife's Edge" by JajaLala | E | 69.6K | Future Fic | Explicit Sexual Content | Past Relationships

This is THE Togachako fic - if you haven't heard of it already, believe me if you mention this fic in a group of togachako enthusiasts, people will start gushing about it immediately. The villain/hero dynamic is so fun in this with a lot of excellent toxic Yuri tension - and OMG Ochako's characterization is great in this (there is this one flashback scene from her childhood that still lives rent-free in my mind XD). And there are so many good interpretations like Ochako's past relationships with Izuku and Tsu that just HIT. Also, the smut is EVERYTHING - I really want to go into details but I'll hold back because it's so much more fun if it's a surprise.

“Revolutionary Girl Ochako” by JajaLala | 77.2K | T | Crossover | Character Studies | Bittersweet Ending

There are a million things I could say about this fic but I will try to keep it brief. This is a Revolutionary Girl Utena and MHA crossover that expertly explores themes of repression, gender, storytelling and what it means to be a hero. Taking advantage of MHA’s large cast, this fic not only does a fantastic job with togachako’s characterization but also does a great job of getting to the core of the side character’s motives and perception of the world. Also, the fic ticks so many quintessential togachako boxes (everything from Himiko being repressed to Ochako’s resilience and unconditional care for Himiko). AND THE FORMATTING OMG!!!!! This fic takes workskin shenanigans to the next level!!! I’m still thinking about the stroke of coding genius in the final chapter. Like y’all would not believe the amount of brainrot this fic induced. Anyways, as someone who has not watched Utena yet I can vouch that this fic reads well regardless of whether you have watched RGU or not :3

Some of my stuff

Here are some togachako fics I’ve worked on that I like best and their descriptions.

“(Online Love)” by samthehyena | T | 6.2K | Chatfic | Misunderstandings | Bittersweet Ending

Summary: The only reason Ochako signed up for a dating app was because Mina convinced her that making fun of people's profiles would be a fun way to pass the time. But soon enough she finds herself connecting with a girl under the pseudonym "Carmilla". Still, one looming question stops Ochako from labeling Carmilla as more than a friend: Who exactly is she in real life?

“your beauty never ever scared me” by iceandfire13 and samthehyena  | T | 10.6K | Time Loop | Angst With a Happy Ending | Middle School Toga Himiko

Summary: After fighting Himiko and bleeding out, Ochako finds herself reliving the same day of middle school over and over again. And she can’t quite piece together why that one ordinary day is worth repeating at all. Except for Himiko that day is anything but random – after all, it was the day she stabbed her middle school classmate as her mask finally slipped.

Is Himiko’s future really set in stone? Will Ochako be able to break the loop?

Only time will tell.

“Knee Deep In the Passenger Seat” by samthehyena | E | 19.1K | Identity Shenanigans | Future Fic | Angst

Summary: Years after the war, Ochako is desperately trying to move on from her grief for Toga with her new situationship. But it's so hard to keep things casual when Ochako's fling reminds her of Himiko in so many ways.

“Dear Google, is my girlfriend a vampire” by samthehyena | T | 75.K | Incomplete/ Ongoing | Chatfic | Misunderstandings | Crack Treated Seriously

Summary: Ochako's friends are suspicious of her online girlfriend. For all they know Himiko could be a villain, a serial killer or even a vampire.

Author’s Commentary: I guess I would consider this fic something akin to my magnum opus lol. There’s a lot of silliness and subplots with a strong focus on LOV Found Family and Married Dabihawks in addition to the Togachako. A lot happens. Bakugo gets character development, Shouto is convinced Ochako’s girlfriend is a vampire from Twilight, Mineta gets a mini redemption arc and Dabi decides that maybe patricide isn’t for him.  

[mcdonaldsforehead-emofurry]

Daoism and The Complicated Bond Between a Hero and their Arch-Enemy ☯️

(Disclaimer: I'm not an expert on Daoism/Taoism, and even though I made sure to do plenty of research before writing this, I'm likely going to be wrong about some things. If I got something wrong, please correct me. I'm also going to use the Daoism spelling from now on for the sake of simplicity)

A common sentiment expressed between a hero and their arch villain is "Wow, the villain is the yin to that hero's yang", or "They're so yin and yang".

I myself am not an exception, as I've made that point before, especially in relation to the characters I talk about on my blog. But what does that truly mean, and how much does the original source (Daoism) play into these characters in their story?

The most commonly held definition of Daoism is that it's an ancient set of beliefs that focus on being harmonious with the universe (AKA the Dao) via being spiritually/emotionally/physically balanced within. The hard part of the definition comes specifically from the Dao because it represents the universe and its overall depth along with the seemingly contradictive beliefs that come from it. (which is fitting because of how vast and fluid the very nature of the universe is). [2][4][5]

One of the main ways the universe/oneself can remain in balance is through the aforementioned concept of Yin and Yang. Yin is the darkness that holds light and Yang is the light that holds darkness. Yin is feminine, quiet, passive, calm, and negative. Whereas Yang is masculine, loud, aggressive, and positive.

Despite these contradictive traits, Yin and Yang are forces that can't live without one another or else the universe would be out of balance. This balance is achieved through each one having an aspect of each other, as Yin holds some of Yang's passionate and aggression while Yang holds some of Yin's softer and colder parts from within.

It's also important to note neither is inherently good or bad. Rather, they're merely two sides of the same coin that remind us that everyone and everything is multifaceted.

Another concept I need to define from Daoism is Wuxing:

[1][3]: Wuxing Theory/Philosophy is a principle found in Daoism that sets to explain the natural order in the world. Wuxing incudes the elements and their associated color: fire with red, earth with yellow, metal with white, water with black, and wood with green/blue. Each of these elements/colors represent the different aspects/cycles of life including the seasons, body parts, planets, life stages, directions, etc.

[3] Here's a simplified chart showing what each element represent/is associated with:

And here is a simplified chart showing the relationship each element has with each other:

The elements chosen are more so allegorical rather than literal, which is why wood and earth are considered two elements instead of one.

When the wuxing elements are out of balance, a person's self/the world divulges into chaos as the order of nature is ruined. However, when in balance (both the destruction and creation aspects), one's self is complete and in line with the natural order of the world.

This post is going to focus on how this concept applies to the "enemies and lovers" (though lovers can be substituted with friend if desired) trope; specifically between Batman/Joker, Adora/Catra, and Ekko/Jinx. I chose these three relationships because I feel each relationship represents what happens when Daoism is applied in different ways, because this blog is mostly focused on those three, and because I feel like the Batman/Joker dynamic is arguably the most influential/subversive Yin/Yang duo in the modern age.

Which brings me right to-

Part 1: "You're the yin to my yang, can't you see?" Batman and Joker

Before analyzing the specific dynamic and how that influences their respective story, I'm going to analyze the aesthetics because I think the physical appearances are a good visual indicator of their ties to Daoism.

Simply put, Batman is the embodiment of "Dark is not Evil" whereas Joker is the embodiment of "Light is not Good". Batman wears all black to hide in the shadows and blend in while Joker wears bright colors to stand out from the shadowy Gotham. Batman works hard to uphold justice while Joker works hard to spread harmful chaos. Even more interesting is that Batman wears fully black while having white pupils, while in the animated series, one of Joker's redesigns has him with (sans undertale type) black eyes against his white skin. This would seemingly lead to the conclusion that Batman is Yin while Joker is Yang. After all, Yin is usually the quieter/repressed one with elements of aggression while Yang is the opposite.

However, it can also be argued that Batman is Yang due to his aggressive and passion to help others while holding a deep darkness within, while Joker could be Yin due to his overall darker nature with his jovial side being hidden behind his actions.

its been stated by both men how they could've easily become the other after their respective "bad day":

Detective Comics #33 (1939) Bill Finger and Gardner Fox

Batman: The Killing Joke DC Comics (1988) Alan Moore

Either way, I think this ambiguity of who Batman/Joker represents is fitting for what Yin and Yang is because everyone has a bit of Yin and Yang in them.

However, what makes Batman and Joker the ultimate Yin and Yang duo is the fact they represent opposite ideals while reacting in completely different ways. Because of how extreme said ideals they get, both men need a barrier of some sort to keep the other from going over the edge.

After all, its been said by Batman himself that if he killed the Joker he'd end up going overboard with wrath and end up hurting more than intended:

Batman: Under the Hood (2005) Judd Winick

Besides that, Batman's anger is infamous for how it manifests in a highly controlling nature. One of the only people that can go against and challenge Batman's controlling nature is Joker. Likewise, the only person who can plan for Joker's chaos is Batman. That's what makes their fights so personal for each man. They aren't just fighting a man they hate, they're fighting the contradictive ideals they see in one another while giving the other symbolic purpose.

It's no wonder why there are a multitude of stories that showcase Joker grieving over Batman's death/disappearance. After all, without Batman, crime has no punchline:

Knight Terrors: The Joker #1 by Matthew Rosenberg

Joker's 80th Anniversary: Kill the Batman, Gary Whitta

Batman The Animated Series Epsidoe 51: "The Man Who Killed Batman"

Some other examples include The Dark Knight Returns (by Frank Miller), and Going Sane (by J. M. Dematteis, Eddie Campbell, and Daren White).

While Joker is open about how much he needs Batman (with the most infamous example that comes to mind is the final fight between them in Arkham Knight), Bruce is a lot harder to crack.

At first, Batman's feelings are cut and dry, with him hating Joker for all the terrible things he put him and his loved one's through. However, various adaptations and comics (especially in recent years) have shown that Batman's feelings about the Joker are a lot more complicated than originally thought.

Part of this complication comes from how they've been fighting for so long that it's become routine for both of them. Ironic considering that Joker is all about chaos, but I digress. Heck, this same point is brought up in Batman Arkham Knight: The Riddler's Gambit by Alexander C. Irvine, where Batman tries to sort out his seemingly out of place grief that came after Joker died due to how familiar fighting him was.

Another part of this complication is due to the nature of comic books and all the adaptations that come from it. Some writers will write Batman mourning over the loss of Joker (I.E. The short story Perp Walk by Jason Shawn Alexander, The Arkhamverse, The Injustice series, Batman: Damned by Brian Azzarello, etc) whereas other writers will showcase Batman not giving a crap over Joker and his death (I.E. the DCAU). The only thing we can guarantee is that Joker makes Batman feel everything BUT indifference. Even when Batman claims he means nothing to him, he's usually screaming this or putting other peoples safety in jeopardy just so he can deal with his seemingly unimportant butt.

Whatever their personal feelings are, it doesn't stop the fact both men are trapped in a dance with one another due to their conflicting ideas.

Which brings up the question "If Yin and Yang are meant to compliment each other, how can Batman and Joker be Yin and Yang if they constantly fight with one another while rarely working together?"

Outside of their team up storylines including Batman & The Joker: The Deadly Duo (2023) by: Marc Silvestri, Batman: Europa (2016) by Brian Azzarello, Batman: The Enemy Within, Batman: The Brave and the Bold: season 1 episode 13 Game Over for Owlman, and Dark Knights: Metal (2017) by Scott Synder), they don't seemingly mash well.

And that is the crux of how Batman and Joker both subvert and utilize Yin and Yang. Does being opposites and the same while not being able to truly work with one another prevent them from being truly Yin and Yang? Or is it only a reflection of how Yin and Yang are both separate concepts that retain their individual ideas even when together? There's a lot to say how their cosmic fight both utilizes and rejects the union present in Yin and Yang (at least in a conventional way).

Whatever the case may be, the ties they do share with Yin and Yang is a reflection of each other's vices, and potential successes should they work together. Unfortunately, with the nature of comic books, these two won't be able to break apart from the cycle, which both supports the idea how they both subvert and utilize the tethered nature of Yin and Yang.

Part 2: "But you two... Even when you're trying to kill each other, you can tell there's a real bond there" Adora and Catra

Just like the previous section, I'm going to start off with analyzing the aesthetics' of these two before doing a deeper dive into how Daoism plays into their story:

Adora's main color palette includes red, white, and gold whereas Catra's color palette is red and black (with occasional violet-red in some of her outfits). They both share the color red as a reference to their leadership roles, but the difference with Adora having white and Catra having black best represents how the symbolism of red is applied differently. For Adora, red represents confidence, strength, energy, and health while for Catra, red represents danger, war, blood, anger, and passion.

With these descriptors, Adora/She Ra could be represented with Yang while Catra can represent Yin. Adora is more spunky, competitive, confident, and noble while Catra is closed off, sly, colder, and feminine. And like Yin and Yang, they held opposite qualities, with Catra being often rougher than Adora while Adora (at first) had to be told what to do and wasn't very assertive in what she wanted in her own life.

The whole series follows the fall and rise of their relationship, and how they go from enemies to allies over the course of several years. In short, their relationship serves as the backdrop for the show's universe; as while the two were fighting against each other, Etheria was often in jeopardy. However, when they reconciled and truly opened up to one another, they were able to save everyone around them.

Even their very character growth required them to learn from one another. Adora needed to have some of Catra's selfishness while Catra needed some of Adora's sympathy for others. Without these lessons, the two were self-destructive and unhappy. In this case, selfishness turns into self-love when applied correctly.

This union is also showcased in their future outfits, as Adora adopts some of Catra's feminine side along with her crown, while Catra adopted her ponytail and jacket:

During their first kiss, the scenery involves an excess of yellow, blue, white, green, and black. Combined with Adora/Catra's red, these colors are the same found in Wuxing philosophy (though technically there's five colors with green and blue being interchangeable/substituted with one another).

I'm sure this was a coincidence, but I think the background colors matching with the Wuxing elements is fitting as both women were finally able to open themselves up about their love for one another. It's especially interesting that Adora and Catra have red color's, especially because red/fire is associated with the heart and growth in Wuxing [1][3].

All in all, Adora and Catra's journey throughout the show concluded with them adopting elements from each other while still keeping certain aspects of themselves intact (with the exception of the self destructive traits), and I think that's a beautiful description of what Daoism aims to achieve. Not to concern yourself with someone else's differences, but rather learning from one another in order to grow as a person and retain balance in the universe.

Part 3: "Dynasties and Dystopia" Ekko and Jinx

Once again, lets start off with analyzing the aesthetic references to Yin and Yang that Ekko and Jinx share:

During their infamous bridge fight, Ekko is standing in front of a bright light while shadows fade on him. Meanwhile, Jinx is shrouded in shadows with a brink of light shined on her. This visual imagery showcases that Jinx is Yin, and Ekko is Yang.

Interestingly enough, their outfit's seem to showcase the opposite:

Ekko wears a white tank top with something dark on it whereas Jinx is wearing a black tank top with something light on it. There's also how Jinx is a pale white woman who wears mostly black/dark clothes whereas Ekko is a black man who wears mostly white/lighter colored clothes. Through this visual indicator, it would seem Ekko is actually Yin while Jinx is Yang.

Which could also work because Ekko's gritter aesthetic contradicts with his hopeful, noble personality while Jinx's playful aesthetic contradicts with her inner turmoil and anger.

The idea of Jinx being the Yang to Ekko's Yin is further visualized with both the necklace Ekko gives Jinx/Powder in the alternate universe:

Another tidbit to mention about the ambiguity of who represents Yin/Yang is the season finale where the two come together to save everyone around them. Like Catra and Adora, this union is visualized through their new outfits:

Jinx has hour glasses and green streaks colored onto her while Ekko has pink X's around his body. They also adopted some fashion elements from one another with Jinx's shark hoodie probably being partially inspired from Ekko's hoodie/owl mask, while Ekko is wearing a crop top similar to how Jinx would wear crop tops. Jinx has a brighter top with black in it (like Yang) while Ekko's top is darker with some whites on it (like Yin)

Similar to Batman and Joker, the ambiguity of what Jinx/Ekko represents is fitting for what Yin and Yang is, as everyone is ultimately made up of both forces.

That being said, on a metatextual level, Ekko and Jinx's relationship is one of Arcane's visuals for how much balance is present. This is best observed through the differences in season 1 episode 7 and season 2 episode 7.

In season 1, Zaun and Piltover have a lot of tension due to class issues (which in itself is a reflection of imbalance) and everyone's respective trauma. This fits along with the disarray between Ekko and Jinx and their mutual frustrations with one another.

In the alternate universe, the main cause for everything being different was hex magic never being utilized due to Vi's death. Despite this tragedy, Zaun is seen thriving with everyone looking healthier, happier, and safer. This is best showcased with Ekko and Jinx/Powder being in a happier relationship together.

Even with these differences, Ekko and Jinx still share a Daoist connection to one another, something shown through Powder/Jinx's line: "You know those ugly twins, genius and madness"

At first, it would seem Ekko is the genius to Powder/Jinx's madness. However, Ekko himself isn't as mentally stable as he appears to be. He spent various time loops and over a decade trying to help his best friend turned terrorist, he's prone to obsessive behavior, he witnessed his adoptive father die, and he's prone to bottling up his emotions due to the various traumatic events that he went through. Meanwhile, Jinx is also genius in her own way; as she's able to build advanced weaponry using scraps, she's a poetic person, and she (with the help of Ekko) was able to convert her lair into a working blimp of sorts.

Ultimately, it would be more accurate to say Ekko is the genius holding madness while Jinx is the madness holding genius inside. Both with the potential to act out as either, but only in a way that balances the other out.

Whatever the case may be, these two are always going to be tethered together even though Jinx had to leave. One of the main themes of Arcane is duality, connection, and opposites living together. Ekko and Jinx's cosmic relationship is just another way to showcase this theme among the chaos going around them.

Part 4: The T.D.L.R.

Batman and Joker both utilize and subvert Yin and Yang

Adora and Catra are directly influenced by the message presented from Yin and Yang through their union together

Ekko and Jinx is the personification of Yin and Yang in Arcane/League of Legends

This distinction is important because it shows how much the environment reflects each character VS how much each character reflects their environment.

Batman’s/Jokers world is stuck in a continuous loop unable to break apart from the cycle despite wanting to, Adora/Catra's world changes and evolves with their relationship, and Ekko/Jinx is a relection of the good and bad their environment could bring depending on how they react to it, and well they come together.

Sources:

Bertschinger, Richard. The Five Elements - Mytaoworld [1]

Oldstone-Moore, Jennifer. Taoism: Origins, beliefs, practices, holy texts, sacred places. Oxford University Press, USA, 2003. [2]

Hsu, Shan Tung, et al. “Wu-Xing Theory.” Blue Mountain Feng Shui Institute [3]

Taoism. National Geographic [4]

Zai, Dr. J. Taoism and Science: Cosmology, Evolution, Morality, Health and More. Ultravisum [5]

[waddles-ex-machina]

Hiiii! So, I just started interacting with the fandom I realized there's a lot of Johanna x Kaisa shippers (Sketchbook is the name ship?), and I wanted to know what's the appeal of the ship cus it never occurred to me to ship them lmao

Anyway, all in good faith! Thank you if you answer it, but it's fine if you don't!

Hello! Welcome to the fandom!

That’s a totally fair question, I’ve been a sketchbook shipper for years so to be honest shipping them is just second nature to me now, but let me uhhh try and remember some of my (and the rest of the fandom’s) reasoning. gonna put this under a cut bc it got kind of long I’m sorry 😭

Soo my favourite reason and the thing I never shut up about is that Johanna and Kaisa fulfill VASTLY different roles in Hilda’s life and in the show itself - Johanna is coded to be this very safe stable character for Hilda who isn't all that into her adventures (I know she breaks out of this image later in the show, but it’s still a big part of her character. like. for the most part she just wants some peace at home with a cup of tea please) and Kaisa is there specifically to enable Hilda’s adventures and point her at the dangerous thing. and character dynamic-wise, this is just. very funny. POV you’re a single mother just trying to see her child to the next birthday and the weird lady at the library keeps giving her books that can raise the dead. they’re at such odds by design that it sets up a ton of potential for how they could start off on the wrong foot (enemies to lovers babeyy) or have to try and meet each-other in the middle. and they’re both involved enough in Hilda’s life that it really feels like only a matter of time til they get thrown together by one of Hilda’s shenanigans

also, design and personality-wise they have an “opposites attract” kind of vibe I think? for instance Johanna is outwardly very friendly and a bit of a people-pleaser, but takes absolutely no shit when Hilda is in danger, and Kaisa puts up this dark mysterious persona, but deep down is quite insecure and anxious (and also more caring than she lets on - you can tell she’s also got a bit of a soft spot for Hilda when the kid isn’t actively trying to steal swords) so it’s fun to imagine how Johanna and Kaisa’s personalities could play off each-other when they have such different outward appearances but are more similar deep-down.

Theres also some fun angst reasons off the top of my head:

Johanna has had absolutely nothing but bad experiences with magic and Kaisa is an actual witch, and is partially responsible for some of those experiences (tide mice, etc). you can spin like 1 million scenarios out of this and people already have and it's great bdhsgdjh

Johanna has spent most of her life being abandoned by the people she trusts (her parents, Anders) and Kaisa has been shown to (unwillingly) shut people out and withdraw for fear of not being good enough. You could read them as both having difficulty trusting and maybe being able to help eachother through their insecurities together

to steal a very good point I saw @the-hilda-librarians-wife make a while ago, they’re both outcasts in their respective communities - Johanna struggles to fit in with the other parents and isn’t shown really having any friends in the show, and Kaisa gave up being a ‘proper’ witch to be the keeper of the books, and the other witches clearly look down on her as a result. They lead vastly different lives, but do have similarities that they could connect over and support each-other through.

ALSO - now we know Johanna is also magical and lost a part of herself from having her memory wiped - there is that potential for them to find the things that they’ve been missing in eachother. Kaisa deals with all kinds of magic shenanigans as her day job and could arguably do with some peace and someone to lean on, but she isn’t shy about magic/danger/any other weirdness. Johanna has an adventurous side that was repressed along with her childhood memories for years that still feels very distant to her. They could help bring these things out in each-other and bring a bit of balance to each-other’s lives.

And, coming back to what I said about them having different roles in the show, it’s just very fun to picture them as a co-parenting duo for Hilda. normal mom & chaotic mom. Hilda would be absolutely unstoppable

Finally, imo Kaisa is absolutely a lesbian (years ago I made a joke post on here saying smth like “did the Hilda team know they were making a wlw icon here” and someone from the team replied with “yes” JDKHSJ) and I’ve been in the fandom long enough to know the effect that Johanna has on those, I rest my case 😌

I hope that explains it kind of!! also if anyone else has any other points to make for why they like the ship feel free to add on!!

[mehoymalloy]

What attracts you to Imotohan? Idk if I get it yet….

One day I should make, like, a ship manifesto...

Today is not that day; instead, you get a collection of references to other posts that I found when I couldn't sleep last night.

Reason Number 1: I really like enemies to lovers as a trope.

I always have, ever since I started reading fanfic way back in the day with Kim/Shego lol. But I especially love when two characters allow me to totally buck the more traditional power dynamics of one party having all the power while the other has none, which I find boring and not at all fun to explore.

At first glance, Otohan does have the upper hand a lot of the time in their dynamic (I mean, hell, they start out by slaughtering half of Imogen's friends and the love of her life). But it’s pretty easy (and very fun) to give Imogen opportunities to be on equal footing with Otohan or even surpass them entirely. And the Tension that comes with exploring two characters who hate each other but can’t help but be attracted to each other is just what I find the most interesting and fun to explore in my own writing in particular.

Sources (lol):

Cool Art that really HITS with the Enemies aspect.

Would also be remiss if I didn't plug Shamie’s art, who has created So Much art because I throw money at her every chance I get. Just scroll her whole otohan thull tag, you won't regret it.

Good Thoughts with my own tiny addition about shipping culture in general.

A nice little ask about characterization and violence.

Reason Number 2: They’re obsessed with each other.

To the point that the cast themself see it and take advantage of it in-game (see here, when Sam pulled 'the one you're so keen to meet with' out of his ass, assumedly failed a deception check, and yet Otohan still either humored them or just zeroed in on 'Imogen? Where's Imogen? Tell me where Imogen is' anyway like a fucking simp.)

Otohan in particular also displays a frankly terrifying amount of ‘care’ and effort in getting Imogen to exalt in the battle at Bassuras, which I talk more about here. It’s what kicked off my intrigue with this ship and got me to try my hand and writing them (and then never stopped, as you can see).

Imogen, for her part, is just understandably terrified of but also constantly infuriated with Otohan (shitpost that shows that well). She says Otohan’s name with such vitriol and I adore her for it. Very ‘I’m gonna punch you in the mouth with my own mouth’ energy.

Here’s some video clips that show off their actual in-game dynamic really well, this one brilliantly set to My Kink is Karma (thank you @corkulous) and another to Death of Me (a million thanks to @lavendertheys).

Reason Number 3: They push each other’s buttons really damn well.

Arguably the most important thing in a ship for me after Tension.

We saw Otohan lose their patience exactly once, in my opinion, during the final battle when they called Imogen a ‘bitch,’ and as I said in this post, I think Imogen deserved so many more opportunities to rile Otohan up like that, especially in actual conversation as opposed to combat. She’s just so good at it, by golly, and if I can't see it in canon I can at least write about it.

And I mean, Otohan got Imogen to exalt (the only time she has done so, to my knowledge) and blow up a whole city block; I think it's safe to say they can get under her skin if they work at it, and I wish they had even more horrible opportunities to do so in canon before they kicked the bucket.

Anyways, that's the gist of what attracts me to Imotohan. If you don't get it, then the ship might just not be for you, which is totally fine—to each their own! Thanks for giving me an excuse to yap about themb~

[3rinbkk]

taehyung’s masterlist 🤎

SERIES

maybe I do by @chateautae 

genre: arranged marriage!au, ceo!tae, s2l!au, eventual smut, fluff, angst.  summary: maybe you love each other, maybe you don’t. when a deal between your fathers leaves you forcefully wedding Kim Taehyung, arguably Seoul’s most powerful CEO, you’re prepared for a loveless marriage o eternal regret and unhappiness. but maybe, it doesn’t turn out that way after all. 

no kisses by @icedmatchatae

genre: fwb au-ish, enemies to frienemies? with benefits to lovers, smut, fluff, angst.  summary: it’s championship week! the most anticipated week of the school year; however, reading up to the events, you and your council must collaborate with the football team to promote school spirit and pride. unfortunately, you’re forced to work with your number one enemy, football team captain and fuck boy, Kim Taehyung, known for having a mysterious “no kisses2 rule. 

ONE SHOTS

heatwave by @curly-bangtan 

genre: roommate au, friends to lovers au (f2l), smut, angst if you squint, attempt at sparse crack.  summary: when is hit with a heatwave, and the air conditioning at your shared place coincidentally malfunctions, you star to go a little crazy at your shit luck because there’s nothing you hate more than clammy pits, while Taehyung goes a little crazy thinking you’re trying to seduce him with your tiny shorts and popsicle-sucking skills. 

work out for me by @chateautae

genre: established relationship au, boyfriend!tae, workout!tae, pwp, filthy smut, maybe fluff if you squint real hard.  summary: interrupting your boyfriend’s workout session was either the best mistake you made, or the worst... especially for your legs. 

if it’s not you by @mercurygguk

genre: exes to lovers au, smut, angst, a bit of fluff.  summary: Kim Taehyung grew up watching his parents fall more in love for each day that passed and he always longed for that great, passionate love himself. but if it’s not you? then he doesn’t want it. 

crazy for you by @oddinary4bts 

genre: best friend’s older brother to lovers, a little bit of fake dating trope, idol!au, angst, smut, fluff, snippets of life. summary: you’ve known Kim Taehyung your whole life. when you meet again at a party hosted by your best friend, alcohol looses your lips and you spill your secrets to your childhood crush. will Taehyung give in to to your desire, or will you be struck by remorse?

DRABBLES

heatwave drabbles by @curly-bangtan

[queenlyregent]

hey tumblr dot com, I haven't been active on here in a while and I've never posted about this, but I've been writing a rhaenicent fanfic and posting it to ao3, and after months of writer's block and procrastination, I finally managed to finish it (mostly because I procrastinated doing arguably much more important writing by doing so, but hey a win is a win). just wanted to mention it because I'm actually kinda proud! it's nowhere near perfect and it's still quite underedited, but it's the first fic I ever posted online so in case you're interested, here is the link and I'd love for you to check it out <3<3<3<3

(fair warning to all my rhaenicents tho, there is some light lucemond in this and I totally get if that's not your cup of tea and you'd like to steer clear hahaha)

A Kingdom For Her Grace (73077 words) by lareinavisoma

Chapters: 12/12

Fandom: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, House of the Dragon (TV)

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Relationships: Alicent Hightower/Rhaenyra Targaryen, Alicent Hightower & Rhaenyra Targaryen, Aemond "One-Eye" Targaryen & Lucerys Velaryon (Son of Rhaenyra), Aemond "One-Eye" Targaryen/Lucerys Velaryon (Son of Rhaenyra), many platonic and familial relationships, canon romances also appear, but are not the focus - Relationship, basically the status quo of relationships by ep 7

Characters: Rhaenyra Targaryen, Alicent Hightower, Daemon Targaryen, Aemond "One-Eye" Targaryen, Lucerys Velaryon (Son of Rhaenyra), Otto Hightower, Larys Strong, Rhaena Targaryen (Daughter of Daemon), Jacaerys Velaryon, Baela Targaryen, Helaena Targaryen, basically the whole cast appears, (those still alive by episode 7 anyway), there will also be dragons!, Syrax | Rhaenyra Targaryen's Dragon, Arrax | Lucerys Velaryon's Dragon, Vhagar (ASoIaF), Viserys I Targaryen

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fix-It, Fix-It of Sorts, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, gets fluffier as the story goes on, Lesbian Alicent Hightower, Bisexual Rhaenyra Targaryen, No Lesbians Die, Hurt/Comfort, generally pro black, but not anti green!, Everyone deserves better, Repressed Alicent Hightower, Making Up, Politics, Miscarriage, Canon-Typical Violence, Enemies to Friends, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, lucerys/aemond is mostly pre-slash, I tagged them to protect those who understandably do not ship them, I'm Bad At Tagging, No beta we die like Harwin Strong, Canonical Character Death, Probably ooc, they're all flawed still but more chill than in canon, Reconciliation, POV Multiple, POV Alternating, Incest, Canon Typical Incest, almost forgot to tag that one jesus what has this fandom done to me, daemon is not evil, but this is probably still not a story for daemon stans, Slow Burn

Summary:

Rhaenyra loses her daughter while still in Kingslanding to petition for her son in the Velaryon succession crisis. Exhausted, she decides to stay and care for her dying father.

Tensions run high between the different factions of the family. For the sake of their children and themselves, Rhaenyra and Alicent relearn to navigate life at court together; all the while allegiances are unclear, trust is broken and built anew.

Set during and after Episode: s01e08 The Lord of the Tides

[sunwarmed-ash]

🔥Sinful Sunday🔥

Are ya risen son? 🐰🧟

Love me or Hate me I just don't care.

Ch 4: Call me a King, call me anything, just call my telephone.

Fandom: Stranger Things Ships: Eddie/Billy/Steve, Billy & Eddie, Joyce & Billy Tags: Angst, Billy Hargrove centered, Dissociation, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, the homoerotism of Billy Hargrove and Steve Harrington's fight scenes, Fist Fighting, Sad Billy Hargrove, Neil Hargrove Being Homophobic, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Good Parent Joyce Byers, Supportive Joyce Byers, Pre-Slash, One shot turned into plot, Eventual steddiegrove, Billy Hargrove Has Mommy Issues, Queer Eddie Munson, Bisexual Steve Harrington, Gay Billy Hargrove, Lesbian Robin Buckley, Enemies to Lovers, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, smut, handjobs, steddiegrove, Eddie Munson has dick piercings, queer confessions. Ch preview:

As Billy gazes upon the massive white mansion, he instantly feels severely underdressed. He’s in his date night outfit, which is arguably the nicest clothes he owns, but still. They still scream secondhand. Just like Billy himself. Unworthy of such royalty… 

He shakes his hands out a few times to try and stop the trembling before knocking on the door. 

‘Coming!’ he hears from inside the house, and then a few moments later Steve is opening the door, a huge dopey grin on his face. 

“Hey! You came,” Steve says, moving to let Billy in. 

“Not yet he hasn’t,” Eddie mumbles, appearing suddenly to Steve’s left. The metalhead isn’t surprised when he gets a shove from Billy and then the blonde locks him in a headlock.  

“I’m sorry! I yield, uncle! uncle!” Eddie yell/giggles because he knows it's all a show. Billy would never actually hurt him. He’s stopped taking his anger out on people last October. And intends to keep it that way. He confided in Eddie about it. 

Billy lets Eddie go and be fooled by a false sense of confidence. When he walked in front of him, Billy slaps Eddie’s ass hard. When it gets the appropriate pained yelp, Billy smirks.  

“Well,” Steve laughs, one part uncomfortable, two parts aroused, “I was gonna ask if you cared Eddie’s here but-” 

“It’s fine,” Billy shrugs, following the smell of food into the kitchen. Maybe the presence of a third wheel will make it feel less tense.

“I brought weed,” Eddie smiles and Billy knows it’s going to be a good night. 

[blackbloodedisabel]

main characters for your mermaid thing?

>:) thank you (deranged cackling)

arguably some of the characters I've included here are not main main characters but they mean a lot to me and they have important roles in the story ok

I will include a character grid for everyone this is the format of the character grid:

'eyes' just means vibe, jewellery is the main component of their.. jewellery because everyone here has their own unique magic jewellery (part of the magic system/worldbuilding) except Calen who has a crown only because he's king.

Teagan is my lonely human skrunckly goober losing her grip on reality<3 15 years ago her older brother got dragged from a cliff into the sea by a big scary sea monster lizard, her parents blamed mermaids and have been going out monster hunting in their boat for weeks at a time. she went with them until she was old enough to stay at home and now she's going slightly insane from lack of human contact and thinks the wind and sea are old lovers/friends/rivals. she lives in a weird amalgamation of cornwall/north devon/mid-west wales and she's the most ridiculous author insert you've ever seen. she's very nice, sort of a peacemaker figure, she loves rock climbing and the sea and her hair is perpetually crusty with salt/sand. arguably the second main character and the secondary pov character.

Anemone is the shy princess who was the first picrew I made and she has been the main character and number one pov character ever since. she has the biggest character arc and she is SO precious to me. she's not very magically powerful and is horrifically insecure about it which is not helped by the fact that when she attended magic tutoring (because she’s a princess and her family has historically been very magically powerful) her best (only) friend was the most powerful witch for generations. then Ane left really abruptly and they didn't speak or see each other for close to 2 years. precious baby Ane has spent the last 2 years rotting in her room combing her hair and staring out of the window and the story starts when her brother the king forces her to leave and go on quests to help the people because she's the most useless parasitic royal ever and this is when she decides she needs her best friend's help with quests and thus the story starts. she is very shy and very much a pushover at the beginning but her arc is becoming a confident(ish) strong selfless leader <33 she is also so sapphic she rivals the og poet

Selma is that super powerful best friend!! she is arguably the most important character in terms of how she influences the people around her. she is also simultaneously a big weirdo and very cool!! she made her own magic jewellery and teaches at the magic tutoring system. her special interest is the ancient mega-powerful witch so she's obsessed with the magic jewellery/books the witch made and with the witch's descendant. she is very passionate and resilient (sometimes to her detriment) and defeats (almost) all her enemies with the sheer power of her lesbianism and homoerotic girlbestfriendships. she was very hard to name and only got her name when 'Selma' came to me in a dream (I had a different dream beforehand where the name Olympia came to me but I don't like that as much)

Iolanthe is the last living descendant of said ancient witch and Anemone’s thematic foil. this is because she has similarly mediocre magic when she should be very powerful. unfortunately she is in denial about this and still believes she has yet to earn her magic (magic in this world is both inherent from genetics/chance and earnt based on strength/resilience. Ane is very privileged and emotionally weak so she doesn't have strong magic, Selma is much more emotionally resilient so she does have strong magic etc etc). this means Io spends all her time in her workshop paid for by her richass family trying to make the perfect piece of magical jewellery which she can form a conduit bond with (you can magically bond with a piece of jewellery which will massively amplify your power if you earn it, usually done by making it (like Selma, who Io is very jealous of and inspired to make jewellery by), finding it or buying it with money you worked for). then near the end of part one the questing gang (Ane, Teagan, Selma, Mel, Enith and to an extent Isther) show her the jewellery they've collected which was all made by her ancient witch ancestor. she becomes convinced that she needs these specific pieces of jewellery to become powerful, but obviously they're bound to various members of the questing gang. everything spirals from there. she seems really dull and a bit entitled but on the inside she's making such leaps to conclusions that she is my secret favourite

Melyde is a street singer who, at the start of the story, earnt a conduit bond with a necklace made by the ancient witch (someone threw it at her when she was performing). previously she had no magic (quite rare to have NONE most people just have very weak) but after forming the bond she became about the second most powerful witch after Selma. unfortunately she had precisely zero control over it and accidentally lured half the city to watch her perform and give her money, so Selma and the gang (just Ane and Enith at that point) had to step in and get her to join the gang so Selma could teach her magic properly. you can tell Mel and Selma are in love because their colour schemes make up the lesbian flag. melyde's whole shtick is being very brave and stubborn and while she may be the most pointless character of the gang she means a lot to me

Enith (with a VOICED TH) is the gang's navigator and the first person Selma and Ane recruited to join them. she is from the deep ocean and has an unfashionable haircut because she's making a statement! and I love her. she spent her childhood mapping out the cave system behind her house and when she was older she moved to the capital city to run a tour guide and map making shop because she didn't want to work in her parents' glass making business. she's also got no magic of her own. she's very kind and friendly until her parents are killed at the end of part one (spoilers) after which she becomes angry impatient and withdrawn. I got her name by misspelling enid as enidd, which my brain read as enith because of welsh phonetics. love her!!

Isther (isster) has I think the most duality out of the characters. she fluctuates between poor little traumatised baby and lying vengeful murderous little shit. the gang found her when they accidentally got into the huge sealed-off cave where all the sea monsters were imprisoned after the big attacks 15 years ago and for some reason she was imprisoned there too?? how odd. they freed her and she joined the group. she's actually the witch who controls the sea monsters though she doesn't know that until the end of part 1 and she wasn't born murderous.. unfortunately still a liar and she does end up being (one of) the actual villains even if she was manipulated into it a bit. she could've been ok. she could've been ok!! Ane could've fixed her honestly there's something a little jackieshauna about them (pink and green, homoerotic friendship ended by violent betrayal)

Calen is Anemone’s older brother and the king. he's not a main character but I feel obligated to mention him. he has Issues about his mother. probably the closest to morally grey out of all the non-villain characters because he ends up using child soldiers because he can't beat an angsty 17 year old and her 5-6 uncreative sea monsters

that's them!! thank you for asking about my goobers